97th Hunger Games: Forgotten Few
by AlphaZero21
Summary: A failed rebellious display in the 96th Hunger Games causes confusion in the Capitol. A small District 5 rebellion plans on uniting the Districts in order to erase the Capitol from the picture. With the 97th Games coming up, there is anticipation. Not only in the Capitol, but in the Districts. Will these be the end of the games... or will they end in complete failure. [SYOT CLOSED]
1. Prologue (And Sign up Forums)

**96, ADD [After Dark Days]**

* * *

They had done it! Wyatt and Nina had done it! They had both reached the conclusion of the games.

Mariabel watched from the District 5 orphanage center, other kids her age surrounding her. All of their eyes were glued to the television screen.

"Oh no. Does this mean they have to… You know, fight?" A little boy asked her, his eyes looking fearful as he faced the television screen once more.

This would've worried Maribel as well, however, she was different than the other children in the room. She knew of the plan. Wyatt and Nina had been selected by Mrs. Vida [The operator of orphanage] as part of a secret rebellious plan. Many children had been trained for the games, this would be the first of many waves against the Hunger Games.

The plan was simple, try and reach the end of the games and then threaten a double suicide. As Maribel faced the Television screen again, she saw the two tributes slowly beginning to take action.

Nina gave a sad smile at Wyatt. Wyatt did the same.

"Well… Is this where we say goodbye?" He asked her.

She nodded.

Soon Alium began to commentate. "It's kind'a sad actually, knowing that these two will have to fight to the death." He sighs.

He pauses. "But who's going to do the deed?" He questions.

A grin forms on Mariabels face. Neither. _Either they both die, and this years games have no victor… Or both of them come home. Simple, like that…_

Nina hugs Wyatt. "It… It doesn't have to be this way though!" She cries. Nina's acting skills are perfect, you'd almost mistaken them for an actual couple. Matter of fact, Mariabel was just imagining how fun it'd be teasing the two about it if they came home.

However, the moment of truth had arrived. Wyatt sniffled. "Your right... " He sadly admits, pulling something out of his jacket pocket.

And there they are! Mariabel grinned. Two dark black berries… Also known as nightlock. She was the one who suggested that they attempt a double suicide, specifically with those.

She was thankful some idiot had leaked the map of the arena because her two friends had thankfully played the Capitols cards correctly and were now about to destroy the Capitol at their own game.

Nina quickly tries to stop Wyatt, but he quickly explains to her.

"Neither of us want to die… But neither of us want to kill each other... " He admits, looking to the ground.

In a matter of seconds, he's actually crying.

Mariabel is actually quite shocked. It's almost as if _they're_ actually in love. She never knew Wyatt was such a good actor…

Nina takes a look at the nightlock. "A-Are you sure?" She asks.

Wyatt nods in response, holding onto one of her hands. "I… I love you." He suddenly kisses her on the cheek.

Nina only blushes before she opens her mouth to ask something. However, Wyatt quickly responds. "Truly." He sadly admits.

 _Or wait? Do they REALLY love each other?_ Mariabel was confused, but she shook her head knowing that either way this was going to really mess with the Gamemakers. What can they do about this? Absolutely nothing, obviously.

"A-Are they really going to kill themselves?!" A child questioned.

A little girl screamed. "SIS! DON'T! PLEASE!"

Mariabel looked back down to her watch. "Come on… Come on… Do it Nina."

After a few seconds of quiet, Nina held Wyatts other hand, slipping the nightlock from him.

"T-Together." She hesitantly nodded.

Silence once more. They slowly lifted their hands to their faces, nightlock in hand… Ready for the outcome.

Will they both die… or will the Capitol have no choice but to let both of them li-,

Suddenly though, Wyatt quickly gripped his chest before beginning to scream. Nina jumped back, horrified.

"Wyatt?" She rushed over to him.

Suddenly, he collapsed to the floor… and everything else blurred out to me. _Nina screamed his name. A cannon boomed. Nina was proclaimed the victor of the 96th Hunger Games._

 _Wyatt… Died…_

 _Plan… Failed…_

* * *

Mariabel rushed to her room, kicking over a chair and throwing things across my room, screamed in anger. "HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN!? HOW!?" She screamed.

Soon, Nella walked in. She may have been calm, but her eyes were widened and horrified.

"M-Mariabel? Something wrong?" She asks.

Mariabel only rushed right past her, still enraged. Running into the bathroom she turned on the sink and looked in the mirror.

"Someway, somehow… They saw it coming… W-What does it mean?" She asked herself.

Her pounded, she sighed before punching the mirror. It smashes and blood poured from her knuckles.

"Damn it…" She cursed.

* * *

 **And so it begins. The opening chapter to a SYOT.**

 **Of course, this is my first time doing one of these but I hope that doesn't scare you off. I've actually planned ahead a bit. I could use some tributes obviously, go ahead I have a form right here.**

Name:

Age:

Gender

District: (You can add a backup, just in case)

Appearance: (Remember to be extremely detailed)

Personality: (Like I said above...)

Backstory: (Unless nothing really happens, then once again, try to be detailed)

Family/Friends:

Strengths (At least 3):

Weaknesses (At least 4/5):

Reaped or Volunteered:

If Volunteered, why?:

Reaction to being Reaped (If Reaped, of course):

Interview Strategy:

Fight or Flee (AKA, plan in the games):

Token (Optional):

Chariot Outfit (Optional):

Interview Outfit (Optional):

Games strategy:

Allies?:

Other:

 **Anyways, thank you for reading and if anybody does bother submitting, thank you and I'll see you next time.**


	2. Reveal and Question

Oam finished packing her bags, a blank face remaining on her face. It had been a day since the victor interview. It had been 3 days since the randomly ridiculous ending of the 96th Hunger Games.

She closed her bag and began walking towards the elevator that would lead her out off the District 9 floor of the tribute center. However, when it opened, it wasn't a big surprise to see Katniss just randomly standing outside of her door. She just stared at Oam as if she was crazy, her eyes widened.

"Hello-," She barely mustered out the words before Katniss pushed her back into her room.

Nearly falling over, Oam gave a glare at her friend and fellow victor. Of course, Katniss had a habit of rushing to her out of context just to speak but what was she currently doing?

Katniss sighed. "Sorry. Just... I wanted to talk with you in private about something that's kind of been... You know, bothering me." She admitted.

Oam gave a playful sigh. "Everything bothers you, you know. Alright. Spill it Catnip." Oam shrugged.

Katniss gave a small breath before closing her eyes. "The ending to the 96th Games. You could tell exactly what the District 5 tributes were doing." Katniss began.

Oam nodded. "Yeah. Kill themselves. Probably to make sure there'd be no victor for the games." She suggested.

Katniss gave a nod back. "Yeah... That doesn't normally happen... Oam." She gave her friend a serious look.

Oam blankly stared at Katniss who quit speaking. The former tribute eyed the floor, beginning to shake. "In my games, I remember I tried the exact same thing." She slowly looked back up at Oam.

Oam only grinded her teeth. "You mean... tried killing yourself and another victor to-," Katniss didn't even let her finish.

"Peeta died before it could work!" She interrupted her friend.

Oam put her hands on her hips, giving off an annoyed look. "So, what's this one all about then?" She asked.

Katniss took in a breath. "When I was about to try, my plan was to test the Capitol. See if they'd really leave the games victorless or with two tributes. I never even had the chance to pull out the berries... but I guess somebody thought it was a good idea to try it themselves." She admitted.

Oam rubbed her hair. "Now that I think about it, that was quite planned out. Hm..." She went silent.

The room was quiet for a few more seconds as the two just sat around. Suddenly though, Katniss looked back over to her friend. "You know, District 5 did far better than they usually did." She noticed.

Oam was looking at the floor, but she nodded anyways. "Yeah, you're right. To be fair though, every now and then an unexpected victor will be crowned." She admitted in an unfortunate tone, looking straight up at her friend.

Katniss gave an unamused sigh. "Whatever. I just wanted to tell somebody that, thanks Oam." She sighed, waving off as she left through the door.

Oam just stood there for a few moments, slowly taking all of that in before quietly picking up her bag and beginning to walk out of the door. As she did, the only thing on her mind was the tributes from the District 5 and their performance at the end of the games.

 _District 5... What are you planning..._

She sat down, pressed the elevator button, awaiting another elevator as she checked her watch. _Her dads watch... A gift right before she entered the 80th Hunger Games arena..._

The handles weren't there, having been removed in the games to make sure she didn't have an unfair advantage. They didn't bother putting them back but to be fair, she didn't expect to last longer than Day 1 either.

The elevator opened up soon enough and she walked into it. Oam didn't notice a figure standing in. This figure had been awaiting the woman. Only when Oam did notice her, she pretended the figure wasn't even there.

The figure cleared their throat, clearly needing the others attention. However, Oam refused to cooperate. The figure sighed, snapping her fingers towards the ceiling of the elevator. Barely 2 seconds later, the entire thing stopped moving and the lights went out.

Eventually, Oam decided to acknowledge the existence of this figure who was in her space. She sighed, turning around.

"What do you want, Cellia?" Oam turned towards the figure, a small but slightly old looking woman. She had been a victor, the victor of the 75th Hunger Games.

Cellia grinned. "I've been meaning to ask you about something." She turned around, her dark hair covering one side of her face.

Oam only licked her lips. "And so have I actually." She admitted. "You first though." She told the other victor.

Cellia grinned. "We're planning a rebellion..."

* * *

 **I'm actually a little intimidated by doing this SYOT. Seeing just ONE submission actually scared me. No worries though. I'm starting to warm up to it though.**

 **Currently I have only Three submissions and a reserved spot (Both District 2, D5 and D6 Female). Wonder if I'll get anymore.**

 **Anyways, I actually never brought up something here. In this timeline, there was no rebellion post 74th Games because Katniss hesitated on the berry move from the first book and well... It's unspecified how Peeta died but he just did so Katniss became the lone victor meaning no real reason to rebel blah blah blah.**

 **Let's just say this timeline meant a few more years of Hunger Games.**

 **BookArtist** \- This will probably be explained in an upcoming prologue chapter. The tracker in him got him killed (Though it stopped his heart from the look of it).

 **Pi or pie** \- Yeah, about that...

 **Cloudoffeathers** \- I've accepted Iris and I'm probably going to do the same for Zircon. [Somethings holding me back for now but don't worry, he's probably already in while your reading ;)]

 **For some reason no reviews appeared on the story until today even though most of them were done on the 1st. Strange.**

 **Anyways, as always thanks for reading and I'll see you all next chapter. (Oh, if you're wondering why the chapters have been so short as of now, it's only because these are really prologue chapters that I wouldn't think to really expand upon. I can do much better in my other stories though.)**


	3. Family

**Christmas Eve. 96 ADD**

* * *

In less than a year, the Hunger Games were going to become 97 Years old. In the Capitol, this would usually be met with excitement and even if you really didn't care for the games, you would be at least interested. However, for some reason it wasn't like that this year.

The President sighed as he stared out the window to his palace. Even though it wasn't even near night time, it was dark outside. The young President was going over everything that had happened ever since he was elected the replacement for President Snow.

From a young age, he'd been interested in the politics in Panem and even before he turned 18, many unanimously wanted him to be snows replacement once he either retired or passed on. By the time he was 17, President Snow was already planning on passing his power onto this young boy and he secretly, he was in a relationship with his daughter. While Ramia was interested in being President of Panem... He doubted he'd be able to do the job as well as his predecessor. In fact, their were rumors going around that a war with the Districts was about to begin and Snow managed to do everything in his power to stop it, even before it could begin.

Though not too long after the 78th Hunger Games, Snow was showing signs of sickness... And he had no choice but to retire. Soon, he entrusted his power to the young man and well, now he was President. Snow passed away barely a year later and he had officially become the leader of Panem.

He didn't feel like it though. Almost everywhere, he had critics. Most of them said the same things...

 _"He's too soft."_

 _"He doesn't punish the Districts enough."_

 _"He's too lenient."_

 _"I wouldn't be surprised if we have a second rebellion in less than 5 years."_

Almost everybody in the Panem political system hated his guts. A lot of the Districts hated him a lot more than they hated Snow.

Ramia always believed that doubting himself would only hold him back from doing his job when he was younger, but now he was REALLY questioning whether he was going to be the end of Panem. The 96th Games had officially been a sign of possible rebellion. District 5 wasn't a very rebellious District. Yes, they could be dangerous at times but they weren't 1, 2, 4 or even 3 level.

Still though, they usually had more care than some of the other Districts. They were always the quiet ones. That was until recently. Both District 5 tributes of the 96th Games made it to the end and attempted suicide in order to prevent a victor. Thankfully, it was shut down by one of our head gamemakers as he saw right through their plan.

Just another issue was beginning to rear its head. _How will the other Districts respond to it? Will they also try similar things?_

At this point, he was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice his daughter walking into the room. "You're always in here thinking. Everybody's been looking for you." She walked in, giving a confused look.

Ramia continued looking through the window. "I'm kind of busy..." He sighed as it continued snowing.

"On Christmas Eve? You have no time for your family?" She reminded him of the date and time.

Ramia turned around in his chair. "Oh right. I-I hadn't been... Ugh. I'm just so distracted." He scratched his jet black hair, giving a smile to his daughter.

She smiled back and he followed her to the living room. In the living room stood his wife and other child, an 19 year old boy.

"Finally!" His wife stood up from the couch, happy that her husband had showed up. His son only took a glance before rolling his eyes and going back to watching TV.

Ramia sighed seeing his son. Frigus resented his father. Probably because of the lack of time he's spent with his family even if they live under the same roof. "So. How long you staying?" Frigus asked his dad who only gave a baffled look.

"... As long as you need me I guess." He assured his son.

Frigus responded with a face that could only say _'you cannot be serious, right?'_.

Amelia waved over to her husband. "Come on. Sit down with us and watch the special." She moved over, making room for him.

The President sat down and began watching the Annual Panem Special. It aired every year on Christmas Eve and if you lived in the Capitol you'd probably seen it at least twice in your life.

The story was extremely simple. A man and a woman meet up, they become close and want to become closer. However, their parents would rather them not be together but eventually in the end after a long struggle they come together anyways. That's the outline anyways. It's actually an old propaganda film considering it involves a dramatic hypothetical war battle between the Capitol and a lot of the Districts.

"You know. I've always questioned whether the District 12 girl really deserved to die like that. I mean..." Luceat admitted while they silently watched the special.

Amelia turned and smiled at her daughter. "Considering what the Districts do in the special. Maybe, maybe not." She scratched her head.

"That is why we have things like the Hunger Games after all Luceat. Trust me, if anything they deserve it." He slouched back.

While Frigus wasn't exactly into politics or anything, he knew it was obvious that his father was far too lenient on the Districts. This leniency would cause Panem to implode on itself. _And father isn't doing a damn thing about it..._

Ramia thought on it for a moment. He had never questioned the games before. They were just apart of the Districts as they were the Capitol. It kept the Districts in check and considering there had already been 96 Games he didn't doubt they'd go on forever.

The special was already entering the climax portion. The moment in which the Capitol manage to fight back against District 1 and 5 and begin to win against the Capitol again. The main characters finally decide that they are meant for each other even if they have their differences and issues. It's sappy and cheesy for current standards but hey, at least it's memorable and even breath taking in some cases.

One of the more memorable scenes included the Capitol under attack by Districts 1, 5 and 6. People being shot down. Bodies everywhere. People running for their lives. It makes practically every Capitol viewer cringe. But for some reason... This year it was making the President anxious.

He was going to have to deal with fact that this could happen in his lifetime. He could be completely responsible for failing his people and family.

 _Family..._

He looked over at his son, daughter and wife. If he didn't do something about a possible uprising... What would become of them? He stood up and walked away from the cough. His wife gave a concerned look. "W-Where are you going now?" She asked.

"I... I have something I forgot to finish earlier. I'll be back in an hour or so." He lied, heading off from the cough and out the door.

Frigus sighed and looked over at his mother. "I doubt he actually cares."

* * *

 _ **Well... This is probably going to be lowest quality this story gets for the most part but... Yeah. Third prologue just to establish our current new President, his family and the mood in the Capitol. [Oh, and maybe to get people to remember this story exists XD]. It was a little rushed but overall I don't think it was too bad.**_

 _ **Anyways, i've already gotten to work on a few of the reaping chapters. District 4 is probably going to be up first since I've basically completed that one already and I've been in and out with 5 and 2. Testing kind of got in the way of finishing things up but if I get a few lower District tributes submitted then expect at least 2 of the reaping chapters by the end of the month... Hopefully...**_

 _ **Interesting thing about this. A lot of the names are actually Latin instead of Greek like in the original just because I suck with coming up with Greek names. Let's just say it's a trend and pretend I'm not lazy, K?**_

 **(Also yes, the Christmas special is a war-romance movie... Don't ask me how this works at all _*Sits down and questions own thought process*_ )**


	4. Right, Wrong and Inbetween (District 4)

_**So if I write any characters awfully off, tell me. Thank you and enjoy the chapter, - AlphaZero21**_

* * *

 **District 4**

Considering District 4 was the third richest District, District 4 was usually considered one of those Districts to be reckoned with. However, their track record over the past few games said otherwise. While District 4 did have a training center, it had only around 120 students. Pathetic compared to District 1 and 2. District 4 was basically now the filler of the richer Districts.

The 97th Hunger Games reaping day was very off putting to say the least. The sun was nowhere to be seen as the sky was a darkened grey (Almost black). The place was unusually cold. A storm was most likely coming in. A metaphor for the coming reaping.

 _Or so you'd think…_

The District 4 escort was a young [From the look of it anyways] man named Peri. He wore a gigantic red hat and wore a velvet suit. His face was practically buried under miles of makeup.

Surprisingly, this was the most average you could probably get when it came to the Capitol. Anyways, he jumped onto the stage and introduced himself like he always did. The crowd was more or less quiet and half asleep following the reading of the Treaty of Treason so the moment he put his name in the box filled with female names, nobody was paying much mind.

"Lila Tempus." Peri announced. Now District 4 was awake.

The girl in question, Lila Tempus, began to move out of the 16 year old section. Her head down and her hair in front of her eyes, making it nearly impossible to see the look of pure terror in her face.

While many in the crowd felt empathy for the girl, it was only slightly. Of course, this was because she was one of the _poorer_ girls. From the outskirts of District 4. The ones nobody really knew or bothered to care about…

"I-I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!" A sudden shout came from 17 year old section. Eyes turned back as an orange haired, tanned girl came rushing in from the back of her section.

"I VOLUNTEER! I VOLUNTEER!" No fear or hesitation came from her voice as she raced for the steps.

Lila only turned around, surprised to see her good friend volunteering for her. She only looked on, her eyes were filled with horror.

"Zandra! What are you-," She cried, trying to stop her best friend from taking her place.

"Lila, just let me do this." She pushed her to the side, walking up the stairs and now effectively, taking her place.

"Ohh. A volunteer? And what may your name be?" Peri asked the girl, holding the mic to her face.

Zandra only swallowed her Saliva.

"Zandra. Zandra Lithis." She announced herself to the now wide awake crowd of people of District 4.

"Oh what an amazing name. I assume you're apart of the Annual Upper District Alliance?" Peri questioned.

Zandra gave an annoyed look. This "Annual Upper Alliance" or whatever name was a fancier term for careers. S

"No." She announced, codly.

Peri responded with an actually surprised look. "Whoa." Was her only response.

"Whoa indeed…" Zandra whispered to herself, rolling her eyes.

Peri eventually went over to pick the male name.

"Nett Nevan." He announced, squealing.

Before Nett could even register the fact that his name was picked, a shout broke out from the near tail end of the crowd.

"I VOLUNTEER!" A voice rang out. All eyes turned back towards the 18 year old boys.

Who else was this than a built up late teen. His blue eyes were formed in a very serious face as he made his way towards the stage. From the look of it, he was just the regular career for this years games. However, under the glare, blue eyes and handsome face… He was hiding. More than just a secret, but an entire story to be unveiled.

Zandra only rolled her eyes as the boy stepped on the stage. "Wow. Two volunteers. I have no doubt that the young man is apart of the annual alliance." She speculates.

This time, the boy rolled his eyes. He swiped the microphone from peri (To Peri's annoyance) and began to announce himself. "Harry. Harry Stone." He says into the mic.

Peri angrily snatched back his microphone. "Alright. District 4! Tributes!" He announced.

After a polite applause, he motioned the two tributes to shake hands. Surprisingly, both of the tributes hesitated before shaking hands. They could read each other well. Neither wanted to be in the places they were in, but what choice did they have. Zandra could tell. She already hated Harry from just looking at him…

Meanwhile, Harry was going to dismiss Zandra. She wasn't a threat to his plan, but he probably needed to keep a lookout though...

 _Because there was no other reason for this girl to volunteer for her friend… Unless she's after a goal, just like me…_

Right away, the two were pushed into the District 4 Justice Building and before they knew it, the reapings were over.

* * *

The first to say goodbye to Zandra were both of her parents, Ferren and Kerrin.

Ferren had a distraught look on his face. "Why? Just why?" He questioned his daughter.

Zandra's eyes were still. Her face unmoved. It seemed like even she didn't really have an answer.

"Why do you plan on doing this to yourself? You know it yourself, you had no reason to volunteer for that poor girl!" Her dad yelled.

Zandra looked up to her dad. "Actually I did." She glared at her father. Zandra respected her father. He was hardworking, had a lot of decency and made sure they had food on the table. However, he lack of understanding at the moment annoyed her.

She looked down at the ground, her voice going quiet for a moment. "Lila is my friend, I couldn't just let her… Go on like that."

Kerrin sat next to her, patting her on the back. "I know you believe it was the right thing to do… But you're just throwing your life away, you know that right?" She questioned her daughter.

Zandra looked over to her mother. "I know what I'm doing. If that was what it took, then I'm fine with the outcome. Hell, I don't doubt that I'm coming back." She said with confidence. While yes, the Hunger Games was a series of events where teens were sent to death and most of the time they were sent in with others who WANTED to kill others, Zandra was tough. She wasn't doubting her abilities because she already knew where she stood in proximity to others.

Her father only sighed. "That attitude of yours… I guess I should've seen something like that coming considering you've always been like that… And I know she's your friend… But…"

"Are you saying you would've have ever done anything similar?" She questioned her father who only stopped to think about it for a moment.

After a long break, he only sighed before turning around. "Just remember." He began.

Zandra looked back up at him, paying close attention. "I don't want you to do this. Your friend probably doesn't want you to do this. It's like I said the last time you got whipped." He told her.

"Think about what you do before you do them. Yeah I know." She assured him.

He turned around. "Even if I can't stop you from going in, the least you could do is that." He groaned.

Zandra nodded in understandment, standing up and hugging her father.

Zandra only took a deep breath as her parents were escorted out of the room. "I love you both!" She shouted, coming out in a surprisingly more desperate tone. Her mother nodded sadly and soon enough the door closed.

The next few people to walk in were her friends Lance, Terrina and Lila. They all burst through the door at once. Terrina was an ex of hers but still a great friend nonetheless. She once saved her from a peacekeeper, not like she really needed the help. Lance is another friend. Always tries to keep it light. Good guy to go to if you want to forget your problems. Oh, and he definitely has a silver tongue if you know what I mean. Lance was one of those people you could go to if you wanted to forget your problems. He also had quite the silver tongue…

Finally, there was Lila. She was one of the few friends Zandra had stuck with since childhood. She had always been the quiet one most of the time but Zandra thought that when she spoke up she was very sweet. She was easily her closest friend.

They all surrounded Zandra for a moment, all with confused faces.

"W-Why though?" Lila immediately asked.

Just like earlier, Zandra struggled to come up with an answer for a moment. However, she eventually came up with something.

"I couldn't just let you go up there. I mean, you know what would've happened right?" She reminded her friend.

Lila glared. "I-I… I could've handled myse-," However, Terrina put her hand in front of Lilas face, basically telling her to shut up.

"Oh really…" Lance said, snark clear in his voice.

Zandra was actually kind of glad her other friends were taking this. She was still a little unsure about her decision to volunteer, even if she'd already done the action. However, in the end she knew it was just the right thing to do.

"Anyways. Do you really think you can… you know, win?"

For a moment, she went quiet again. She looked up at the ceiling for a while before coming up with answer. "Who knows. I need to see the competition first."

"You know the drill Zandra. It's the same every year. Strong ones from 1 and 2 and maybe another one from other others. One small kid and finally the middle ground. Aka, you." Terrina explained.

"And how would you know that" She questioned her.

She smiles. "We've fought and I've easily kicked your ass, you should know." She reassured claimed. Zandra only rolled her eyes in response.

"That's our Terrina." Lance shrugs.

Zandra smiled in response. "Oh well, I'm glad you all came." She told them.

"But seriously though. Why did you do this? It isn't like I have anything to live for. A poor girl like me?" Lila finally spoke back up.

Zandra looked back over to her. "It's like I said." She turned towards the window. "It was just the right thing to do." She reminded her friend.

Lila slouched. "You… I understand, but… You'd die for me." She questioned her friend.

Zandra closed her eyes. "I just did…"

The room went silence once more. "I understand… I guess I do." Lila silent admitted.

Eventually Terrina spoke up. "I-I guess I'll be rooting for you." She hugged her friend, feeling kind of mixed about doing so. "You're… A nice person I guess." She turned towards the door. "Bye." She waved.

Zandra, Lance and Lila scratched their heads in confusion at her quick departure for a moment. "She probably had to cry for a moment." Lance grinded his teeth.

Zandra thought over it for a moment. _Is she really crying?_

Zandra really didn't know how to respond to anything anymore for a moment. However, Lance and Lila both hugged her. "We'll miss you. I MEAN, not like you aren't coming back. Just uh…" Lance struggled for a moment, trying to avoid any implication that she would die.

"I… I'll miss you." Lance sighed as he began to walk through the door. Zandra still didn't know how to respond to anything.

"I-I guess this is where I say goodbye... huh." Lila silently muttered. It was unclear whether she was saying this to Zandra or herself but she eyed the floor. Zandra turned and faced the window, looking at the District 4 skyline.

"Why are you worried. I know it myself. I'll be back." She said, still looking out the window. The sky was still dark, and people seemed to be going on their regular day. Almost as if reaping never happened...

"Z-Zandra…" Lila said in a whisper, speaking up to her friend.

Zandra began to turn back around when suddenly their lips met. For a split second, Zandra was almost shocked but for a few seconds, they kissed. Lila stood back, her face beginning to go bright red.

A smile grew on Zandra's face. "D-Don't worry. I'll come back. Just for you." She nodded.

Lila walked towards the door, turning back to look at her friend one more time. "I hope you're right. Goodbye." She said, almost in a cry.

Zandra sat back down in the room. Once again alone. She sighed, saddened.

One thing remained on her mind as she stared out the window…

 _Oh well..._

* * *

Harry sat alone in the goodbye rooms. While he was a person a lot of people knew, he doubted that he'd have a lot of people visiting him. He had one in mind though…

"So… It's time huh." An old or so looking woman walked into the room.

Harry nodded, looking up the woman before him. He had to give her credit where it was due. She had taken care of him for much of his early life.

She sat down near him. "Before you go. I only want to specific things out of you." She put her hand on his shoulder. He only stared.

"Don't ever forget where you came from." Was the first thing she ordered.

For a moment, Harry gave a confused look before reminding himself that she's probably saying it like this since there is a chance that there are cameras and wiretaps in the very room after all.

She wanted him to remember what he was fighting for. His family…

It had been nearly 7 years since that one snowy December night. The night when his family was slaughtered by the Capitol, on the President's orders. Things were different back then. Harry wasn't Harry. He was Harken Mercier. Innocent, 6 year old Harken Mercier. Harken Mercier, a young boy in one of the most powerful families in the Capitol, rivaling even the President's.

Even if it had happened so long ago and he was just barely old enough to even have memories, it still felt like yesterday. He could still remember almost every detail.

It was a quiet night. When his family mansion was invaded and his entire family was slaughtered. His mother forced him to hide under the bed until she came back.

 _And she never came back…_

Instead, he was dragged from under the bed and the attackers forced him to open the hidden vault in their home. Once he did that though, he escaped and managed to hide from his attackers. He hid in his favorite hide and seek spot.

Following this, he was discovered a day later by his God Mother, his mother's best friend Clama. She took him in, explained what had happened and how the Capitol failed to even cover the incident up, and together they ran away to District 4.

At the time, there were fears of growing rebellion. The best conclusion to make was either the Snow/Ramia family chose to eliminate them to take advantage of the situation or because they feared they were funding this new rebellion.

Harken growled, thinking back to it.

"And make sure you give the others hell." She grinned, showing confidence in the young man's abilities.

Now Harken had to admit, he wasn't really sure if she meant the other tributes, the President's family or both but either way, he was already prepared to do just that.

"Don't worry. I'm ready for anything at this point. I've been trained to do this forever." He nodded, grinning with confidence.

Clama responded with a smile. "You've grown up so much since then, but you're still that same Harry I knew from all those years ago." She hugged him.

Harken gave an unamused look over to Clama, clearly embarrassed. In the end, he swallowed his pride a little and hugged his mother's friend back. After all, this could possibly be the last time he'd see her.

 _No. I know I'm going to win this! I have to!_ Harken knew he needed to have full confidence in his abilities for the games. Any hesitation would get him killed, this being the Hunger Games after all.

"Something in me doesn't want to let you go. But I guess it's for the best." She turned back around towards the Peacekeeper in the back.

Clama turned back around and whispered in the boys ear. "Remember the plan. Remind them that the Merciers are a force to be reckoned with." She finished, standing back up.

Before she left out the door, Harken spoke up once more. "T-Thank you. Mrs. Stella. For everything." He hesitated. He felt a little odd saying that. She nodded, leaving out the door with a quiet, goodbye.

For a moment, it was only him and the peacekeeper in the room. The peacekeeper was just staring at him for a long while to the young man's annoyance. "What's your deal? Like what you see?" He glared at the peacekeeper.

Surprisingly, the peacekeeper just walked away like nothing was ever said.

"Is that so. I wish the Capitol as a whole would be that easy. Just ignoring every potential threat." He laid back, looking out the window and out at the District…

* * *

 _Well now isn't that surprising. I managed to make it to a reaping chapter without canning the story after all. And little under a month after the story began? We'll have to wait until I make it to the end before I begin celebrating though. Anyways._

 _What a pair. Thanks to Dame Selena for Harry/Harken and thanks to grimbutnotalways for Zandra. I can't wait to write these two in both the pre-games and during the games._

 **TheFireBlossom - Considering I originally disliked this chapter, it's fun knowing somebody thought it actually meant something.**

 **Grimbutnotalways - Wow really? I guess I'm really not messed up after all XD. Also, glad you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **AbstractTraitorHero - Hurrah. Glad you thought the chapter was good.**

 **Dame Selena - It's a secret to everyone, but I'll probably hint to arena as we go along.**

Anyways, thank you all for reading and I'll see you all, next time. I don't know whether D5 or 2 will be next but expect it probably near the end of this month or so.

 **Random Fact before I go: I have a habit of listening to Breath of the Wild, Tri-Force Heroes or Death Note music while writing. Such atmospheric soundtracks... K, bye.**

* * *

 **District 4 - Zandra Lithis (17) & Harken "Harry Stone" Mercier**


	5. The Same, But Different (District 2)

**District 2**

* * *

Reaping day in District 2 was annually positive. Those who wanted to go in actually WANTED to go in so it wasn't like anybody was losing anybody without consent. Every year they sent in volunteers who would usually join together with the District 1 and 4 tributes. This year would be no different.

As the children all begin to slowly make their way to the District square, a light rain began to fall. It only added to the eeriness that reaping day in District 2 held.

Soon, the District 2 escort, Lilo Mirith, began to take to the mic and introduce herself. Lilo was a pretty young women, still being a little new to the escort business. She spoke in an unusually high pitched voice. She wore a surprising amount of leather since had just recently started coming into fashion in the Capitol so of course at least one escort had to come to a District wearing a dress made of nothing but black leather.

"Alright. How about we begin, shall we?" She put her hand in the box that held the names of every tribute in the games. She swiftly ran her hand through the names of all of the males in the square before promptly pulling out a name.

She spoke the name into the microphone, awaiting something to happen. Not a single person in the crowd moved. Not even the kid whose name had just been called.

"I volunteer!" A hand raised in the back. Just as expected, somebody had volunteered. All eyes turned towards the back of the crowd where a young man rushed out of the 18 year old section of reaping aged children. The young man had spiky hair and was fair skinned. He wore a dark red windbreaker. He held his head high as he rushed towards the stage through the crowd.

In an instant, he was already on the stage. Lilo smiled at him and handed the teen the microphone. "And what is your name?" She asked.

"You all probably know. I'm Cypress Smith." He said, the cockiness clear in his voice. He grinned at the crowd.

He was one of those trained tributes. The ones who had been trained for the games. Also known as careers.

While not everybody knew Cypress, you'd probably know his name from somewhere. He came from a pretty rich family and could get away with almost anything. Because of his arrogant and egotistic personality though, he didn't have too many friends.

That didn't matter to him anyways. It wasn't like he cared for many people after all. Cypress was a prodigy of sorts. He was always at the top of his classes and was even eligible to volunteer when he was 14. However, he chose to wait until he was 18 believing he'd be in his prime by then. It was obvious as he stood on the stage watching Lilo reap the next name… Nobody in the 97th Games would be able to match him…

Or so he thought...

"I volunteer!" Immediately following the reaping of the female tribute, a voice shouted all the way in the back of the 17 year old girls area of the crowd.

All heads turned back as a girl stepped out. Even in the rain, her hair still shone a bright red as if she was on fire. She wore a dark blue jacket and red shirt underneath. The expression on her face said everything about her… Cold, stoic… Dangerous.

She began making her way up to the stage. The rain began to fall harder now. She ignored it, stepping onto the stage. "Oh… Your name?" She asked.

She stopped midway on the stairs, turning back to the crowd before going to the mic. "Magma Stryker".

Lilo smiled, holding the mic at her face again. "What a lovely name." She sang, smiling at the girl who only gave an annoyed glare.

Cypress was only half paying attention by this point. However, something about the girl who was still standing on the steps had caught his attention.

He heard the name brought up from time to time. She went to the same training center as he did, so that was a given. However, there were all types of other things and rumors about her going around. Some involving… Well… Her killing people.

Not like that wasn't a level that Cypress himself would bother swooping down to. Hell, he could get away with almost anything himself. However, something was off about the girl...

"Alright. Anything you want to say?" She asked Magma.

Magma closed her eyes. "Well… "Actions…" She quickly put her hand in her right pocket. She opened her eyes, closing in on the intended target.

"Will tell you what I mean." In the flash of a light, an object was thrown from the stage and into the crowd.

There was a loud scream, before the sound of somebody hitting the ground echo'd across the town square.

The crowd backed away from the body. The knife had reached its target. A tall, sleek and dark haired girl hit the floor. Her eyes were wide open as if she was about to react. Blood ran down her face and across the square floor around her.

Everybody looked down towards the body, and then back towards the stage. While Cyrpess didn't show it, he actually felt a bit of confusion on his part. Did she just kill that girl? And for what? And why?

It wasn't that he cared about the girl that was now dead on the ground. Not even like he knew her, just the fact that THIS was his District partners first form of action and before the games no less.

His face may have been static, but on the inside he knew he had some competition. Well, unless they arrest the girl right here and now...

However, everybody stayed silent and still. Not doing anything about Magma who still stood on the steps, not caring that she just killed somebody.

Are they going to do something about this or...

The two tributes were pushed into the building as the peacekeepers surrounded the dead body of Magma's sister.

Magma gave a small, but slight chuckle as she entered the Justice Building.

"What have we learned… Sister…" She said to herself… And then the doors closed.

* * *

Cypress sat against the window of the Justice Building, watching it continue to rain. Suddenly though, the door swung opened.

His sister, Victoria quickly jumped at him, drenched in rain.

"Big brother! Can I have your jacket?" She asked. Well, it was more like a demand anyways.

Cypress shrugged, handing over his windbreaker to his sister. She wrapped it around herself like it was a blanket, shaking from the cold.

"They knew it was going to rain today. They should've held the reapings on another day. Honestly." She groaned in annoyance.

Soon afterwards, their parents walked in. "It's about time." His mother, growled as she entered the room. She had been pushing him to enter for as long as he'd been at the top of the classes. Cypress always ignored the request.

"You're gonna win right?" His sister asked him, rubbing her wet hair with his jacket.

Cypress gave an annoyed glance. "Of course. Dominate would be a better word for it." He claimed.

His sister scowled in response. "Not dominate. Exterminate. Anything less and I'm never calling you my brother ever again." She said in a more or less aggravated tone.

Cypress grinned. "No problem." He shrugged.

His sister sighed.

Cypress looked around for a moment. "Dad coming?" He asked.

His mother sighed. "He had to work a shift after reapings. Honestly he should take a break from that lowly job of his sometime." She growled.

While his mother did want him home, it probably wasn't because he didn't even have time to visit his own son before reaping. Either way…

His dad, Noah Smith, was always busy at his job. It was their one source of income. Thankfully it paid a lot, but it was still a lot.

It wasn't like he missed him currently. He wasn't even too sure about his mother since most of the time she seemed like she was fine with him being away for the long run.

Honestly though, Cypress was just waiting for visiting times to be over so he could just head out on his way. It wasn't like he was never going to see them again.

Either way, after a while they stopped interacting outside of Victoria requesting something or his mother yawning. That's just how they were. Cypress was an outsider to the rest of his family and they acted indifferent to the way he viewed things. They didn't say anything again until it was actually time to go.

As the peacekeepers told them they needed to leave, they began to head out the door. "I guess it's goodbye?" Victoria asked.

"Tch. I'll be back. Just you wait." He grinned at her. She imitated his grin.

"Fine. I'll keep your jacket though." She began heading out the door.

Cypress laid his head back on the wall.

Of course, nobody else was going to visit him and it wasn't like he needed anybody else to.

 _He just didn't care…_

* * *

Magma wasn't exactly a nice person...

Well, by this point you can assume that's obvious. She was colder, harsher and a lot more ruthless than some of the other teens trained at the training center. She didn't exactly care much about others and that just made her a lot more dangerous. Hell, she was quite sneaky on the floor. Obsidia wasn't her first kill.

 _And it definitely wouldn't be her last..._

Like a lot of volunteers from 2, she was trained. Her mother, Silicite, had always been fascinated with having a victor in the family. She had trained and wanted to volunteer when she was old enough but was never good enough for it. After Magma and Obsidia were around training age [Well, actually they were both below it but details], she slowly began to shape both daughters into perfect, cold blooded careers.

Slowly but shortly had her mother started shifting attention to Magma and away from her eldest daughter, Obsidia. Silicite had always believed Magma had the most potential and left her older sister in the dust. Soon, Obsidia started trying to make training harder for her younger sister in an attempt to get revenge on her sibling.

Obsidia looked outside as the rain slammed against the window. She was actually looking forward to the games. She wondered how many kills she could highest ever achieved were in the first games, about 11 kills.

 _It was only a matter of time..._

* * *

Cypress and Magma both reunited at the train station only to be met with a barrage of cameras. Lilo also came out, giving a gleeful smile as she approached the two. "Why don't you two lighten up a bit?" She asked, hoping the two would smile for the camera.

Magma coldly ignored her request while Cypress gave a confident grin.

As the cameras all left the station and the tributes (And Lilo) gathered back together, Lilo smiled at the two volunteers.

"So? Anybody visit you?" Lilo asked both of them, a smile shining bright from her face.

Cypress looked over to his District partner. She chewed on her tongue and rolled her eyes. From the looks of it, nobody visited her. Unless she has no parents, her parents might've just backed off considering she just killed somebody right before the reaping. However, he had heard a lot about Silicite and Viktor. They probably didn't even care about the girl that just died, hell they could've planned it for all he knew.

Lilo looked over at Cypress. Cypress sighed. "Is it supposed to be your business?" He questioned as they began to get onto the train.

Lilo gave a disappointed look as they entered the train. Cypress took a look at his District partner. She returned the look with a glare. Cypress glared back.

 _I guess you could call this, a fire forged friendship..._

* * *

 _ **What an intriguing pair. Thanks to BabyRue11 and The Fire Blossom for them. I think I'm going to have a blast writing them. I feel like they have a Red oni, Blue oni theme going on.**_

 _ ***Sigh*Anyways. Hm. Don't know why this chapter was to aggravating to work on but I could've but I blame goodbyes. Anyways... We have filled up all tributes from 1 - 7. We need District 8 Male, District 10 Male and District 11 Male along with both D9 and both D12.**_

 _ **Thank you and I'll see you... later?**_

 **Fact: (I'll never do another chapter this short, I promise)**

* * *

 **District 2 -** **Magma Stryker** **(** 17) ** &** **Cypress Smith (18)**

 **District 4 - Zandra Lithis (17) & Harken "Harry Stone" Mercier (18)**


	6. Here and There (District 7)

**District 7**

* * *

Slowly but shortly did many of the reaping aged children make their way to the District 7 town square. The sky shone brightly over the District as each aged group settled into their respective areas. Meanwhile on the stage the District 7 escort, Sanctus [A newcomer to District 7] had been sitting on the stage drinking tea.

The scenery was actually quite beautiful on this day. As the sun rose over the District, you could get a great view of sea of trees and mountains from the square.

Eventually, when every reaping aged child was in the crowd, the mayor stood up. He reintroduced himself, introduced Sanctus and read off the treaty of treason like he annually did.

Meanwhile, Sanctus was in his own little world though. This feeling of worry was building up inside him, but for some reason the District made him feel less anxious. However, he looked back down at the 12 - 18 year olds. Their faces showed fear, worry and anxiety.

He was hoping one of these faces would be a victor. Then again 7 hadn't won since the 89th games so he doubted the thought.

He stood up, getting to the microphone and beginning to speak.

"Hello all of you beautiful people here in attendance today. I bet this year will be the year District 7 has a new victor. I can just see the fire in your eyes." He growled, trying to get the crowd fired up.

He didn't understand that the Districts weren't like the Capitol. They stayed quiet. Even if he felt a little embarrassed, he still went to reap the first name. He started with males first.

After pulling a name from the box, he unfolded it and looked towards the crowd.

"Oliver Reed." He read the name.

Immediately all the heads in the 17 year old section turned to one head. Oliver stood extremely mortified.

 _You're kidding?! Is this real-, Did he just…_

It takes a while for this thought to register. Not just for Ollie, but the entire District. You see, Ollie was a pretty well known guy. Not only for his good looks and skill but just him being charming.

Ollie was starting to hyperventilate but quickly, he began to call himself down.

"OLLIE!" A voice shouted from far off.

It wasn't exactly in the crowd but to Ollie it still felt near. He recognized it.

"OLLIE!" His brother Isaac shouted from the back.

Isaac was his older brother, 25 years of aged. Even if he was too old to volunteer or even be there with his brother he tried rushing to his older brother. Without thinking, he was rushing towards him…

"WHAM!" A peacekeeper hit Isaac with a gun, knocking him out and onto the ground.

"ISAAC!" Ollie shouted, forgetting everything. He didn't care that he was meant to get onto the stage and be reaped, he rushed for his brother instead.

"Isa-," He didn't even finish shouting his brothers name before he was suddenly apprehended by multiple peacekeepers.

They quickly dragged the teen to the stage, forcing him to stop. After the whole mess was done, Sanctus began to reap the next tribute. The female that would represent District 7.

He quickly selected a name and swiftly unfolded it before clearing his throat.

"Ava, Bark." He announced.

 _You've gotta be kidding me-,_

Slowly but shortly, all heads started turning towards the girl in question. Fear, and then hesitation began shooting up through her body.

Her name had been called. She had been reaped for the games. While she felt very anxious and hesitant, the only thing she could do was get up and go to the stage.

Ollie watched as the girl started towards the stage. She seemed to be trying her hardest to keep from breaking down. However, she looked quite calm and eventually made it to the stage.

She looked over at her district partner. He seemed more calm than he did a second ago when he was trying to get away.

"Alright District 7. Your tributes!" Sanctus raised the hands of both of the District 7 tributes.

After a small applause from the back, the tributes were escorted into the Justice Building and before they knew it, reaping was over.

* * *

Ava looked out the window. When the day had begun, the sky had shone brightly on the District. It almost felt like a completely different day. However, the day had gotten cloudy and the sun didn't shine as much as it did before.

A possible storm from the south. Ava was still considering her options for the games when a young boy with curly hair and glasses came walking in. Her little brother, Jack was quite the young boy.

He almost always seemed happy. His voice could make you smile, no matter what you were feeling.

She glanced over at him for a moment before looking back out the window. "Hey. Sis. You okay?" He asked.

For a moment, she wanted to get angry with him for even asking that… but she stopped. His usual cheery tone, polite and happy attitude that he had everywhere no matter what situation… it was gone.

She looked back at him. "I should be asking you that. You don't seem…" She stopped for a moment.

He wasn't really looking at her. Rather, he was looking at the ground instead of her face. However, he quickly looked back up and smiled at her.

Ava smiled back. "There you are." She hugged her younger brother.

She was actually on the verge of tears at this moment. For the most part of her life, her brother was all she had. She never had time to make friends. Of course this was because she was too busy working in order to help pay for living.

Years ago, their father was killed. He was captured by Peacekeepers because apparently he had been rebelling. The worst part about is that not only did they hang him, they had forced her and jack to watch. Reminder, this was when they were younger.

The sad thing was, even if they were young when they saw their father die… Their mother was 100% worse off then they had been.

"I-Is mother coming?" Ava asked her younger brother.

He looked back up at her. "She said she would. She's going to be here." He turned around.

Currently, their mother was not there.

While her mother still took care of them, she seemed distant. She was with them, feeding them. However, she seemed far off.

Always looking out that window. Searching, wishing. Wondering where her husband had gone.

Either way, Ava was working for the sake of her family alongside her mother.

After a while though, her mother entered the room through the entrance. She looked slightly slumped over and was barely looking up from the ground.

Ava leaned forward a bit, expecting her mother to speak up.

Eventually, her mother slightly looked long brown hair covering her eyes. She said something, but her voice was too quiet.

Quickly, Jack rushed up to her, moving the hair from out of her face revealing her calming blue eyes.

"Mom…" He quietly said.

After another long period of silence, she finally began to open her mouth and speak clearly.

"Ava. I… I…" She begun, her voice filled with guilt.

Ava quickly got up and hugged her mother. "Thank you, Ava… Jack." She nodded.

Ava could understand where her mother was coming from. Without Ava, they wouldn't have had been able to feed themselves. Without any of them, she wouldn't have known what to do.

They sat around silently for a moment, not really knowing where to begin. Ava wanted to tell her mother that she was going to come up with a plan, like she always did. She would find a way to outlast the others and come home. However, she wasn't sure if they'd buy it, if they'd tell her to just give up.

Her mother finally began to speak up. "Ava. We know you enough to know that you know what you're doing. Come up with a plan, you'll come home." Her mother suggested.

Ava looked up to her mother. "Obviously. I'll make sure." She nodded.

However, they went back to silence once more.

Before anything else could be said, a peacekeeper walked in. "Time's up." He said.

"I'll come back. Don't worry." She assured her mother.

She nodded before leaving.

Jack ran back and hugged her sister, putting something in her hand before rushing out the door. He stopped at the door though before turning his head.

"Please come back." He silently begged his sister before walking out the door.

For a moment, Ava didn't know how to react. The thing he had just put in her hand was a small bracelet, one Jack had always seemed to wear.

"I will…" She seemed to glare down at the ground.

 _No matter the odds, Ava could slide her way through anything. She had a feeling the games would be no different..._

* * *

Ollie's head was pressed against the stone wall of the Justice Building. He wasn't exactly sure what to think about being reaped. While yes, he could handle himself… it wasn't like that was going to stop him from worrying.

He was going to be taken from his family. His home. From everyone that cared about him. He was going to be thrown into a life or death game. For the most part, there was a 50 - 50 chance.

Anyways, he was already thinking up some sort of strategy by the time his family came rushing in through the doors.

"Ollie!" His father shouted, bursting through the door.

Right behind was Ollie's mother. Isaac came in last, his head looking only a little bruises.

Isaac ran up to his younger brother. "O-Ollie." He sighed, lowering his head.

Ollie looked over to his brother. Isaac sat in front of his brother, giving a concerned look.

For a while they didn't speak, not exactly knowing where to begin.

Isaac eventually opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off right away.

"So? You think you can do this?" His mother asked, getting straight to the point and retaining the coldness in her voice.

Ollie turned over towards his mother. "It depends on what I'm going against." He replied.

Ollie honestly stood a fair chance. He was pretty tough considering he had worked with an axe from a young age. Living on the outskirts of District 7 gave him an advantage.

"Ana. Please." Ollie's father addressed Ollie's mother.

Ana only rolled her eyes. "Let's get real. That's the only question that needs to be asked."

Isaac sighed. "I guess you're right."

"Well… Do you know where the others are?" Ollie asked, looking towards the door.

"Michah and Jack both had a shift to work after reaping. They told me to tell you to give the Capitol a show. Also, to hopefully come back and that they'll miss you." Ollie explained.

Isaac thought for another moment. "What about Olivia and Grover?" He asked

His father cleared his throat. "They both said they'd be coming here to join u-," However, he was promptly cut off when Grover entered the room.

"Olivia is out crying. She's probably not going to come in. She feels too guilty." He explained to everyone.

"Oh well." Isaac took a deep breath.

Grover swallowed his saliva as he walked over to his younger brother. "O-Ollie... " He breathed, his voice shaking a little.

Ollie crossed his arms. "I-I don't really know what to think." He admitted.

For a moment, everybody went quiet again. However, his mother began to speak again.

"Maybe you can join the careers or something?" She suggested.

Cameron shook his head though. "That sounds too risky and dangerous. It'd be best if you stood your distance from them." He told his son.

"Actually, it could work." Grover scratched his hair.

The entire family turned their attention to him. Once again, everyone was silent.

"I think you've got a point Grover." Ollie admitted. "You see, I'm strong enough. I'm pretty sure I could get the Capitol crowd on my side so being in an alliance would make my job a little easier." He explained.

Isaac smiled a little. "Not a bad idea."

They had finally begun to calm when a peacekeeper had walked into the room

"Times up. Get out, now." He ordered the family.

They all hugged Ollie, proclaiming that they'd miss him before heading out the door.

Before Isaac left though, he turned back to Ollie. "Here." He quickly tossed something towards his younger brother. Isaac quickly caught the item thrown at him.

Looking at it, he noticed what it was. Every member in his family wore a golden bracelet on their left hand. Isaac had just thrown his own at him.

"W-Why do I need this? I already have one." He said, waving it towards his older brother.

Isaac chuckled. "It's yours now. It'll be like I never left." and soon afterwards, he left.

Isaac was alone now. The whole room was quiet. There would be a few more minutes until he would be forced to get on the train and head towards to the Capitol by train. He had approximately a week to prepare a strategy.

 _More than enough time…_

* * *

 **Thanks to both CandleFire and StephenSwiss for Ava and Ollie respectively. I love em both and they're quite the pair.** **This was meant as another test chapter but oh wow did I really get into this one.**

 **Anyhow… D5 should've been next but I wanted to perfectly capture one of the characters personalities. Hopefully that'll be done. We've filled out the character sheet (Sans 8 Male who I plan on taking for myself for bloodbath related purposes). Thank you, see you all soon.**

* * *

 **District 2 -** **Magma Stryker** **(** 17) ** &** **Cypress Smith (18)**

 **District 4 - Zandra Lithis (17) & Harken "Harry Stone" Mercier (18)**

 **District 7 - Oliver "Ollie" Reed (17) & Ava Bark (16)**


	7. Opposite Ends (District 8 & 9)

**District 9**

* * *

All eyes turned towards Riyal and Botan as they both entered the District 9 Square. Botan gazed up, only slightly confused as to why this was a thing. Riyal had a more serious look on her face as she and her younger sister marched through the people, towards their places.

Some people stood their distance. Not only out of fear for their lives but also because these two could be potentially dangerous.

It was odd. The two didn't seem that way from the looks. Riyal was 16 years old and looked scrawny and pathetic. Considering her District, that was nothing out of the ordinary but still. Botan was a little small and less aggressive looking in comparison to her older sister. She seemed to eye up all of the older children surrounding them with confusion. Everything seemed to be homing in on these two. However, Riyal shook her head as she and her younger sister walked into the District Square. They stopped before Riyal got on her knees next to her sister.

"Alright, stay here until after the reapings." She told her younger sister.

You would think she would have had no other reason to tell her sister this, of course she was going to stay there since there was no real reason for her not to. However, Botan didn't know something. She didn't feel the same weight that Riyal did. She didn't understand what was about to happen.

Riyal would be going into the games… whether she wanted to or not…

* * *

 **District 8**

* * *

So. Let's say you were born in the Capitol and never knew what the other Districts were like. You understood they were mostly poorly treated but otherwise, you wouldn't think much of it. Well, if you were ever curious who got the worst of the bunch, go no further than District 8.

Okay, to be fair while 11 was probably the worse of the bunch… 8 was right next to it.

Reaping day in District 8 was a reflection of the state of most of the lower Districts. While up to this point, the only off looking Districts were probably 3 and 6 with staggering poverty rates and slums that take up 2/4s of their districts… Well, 8 was 100% poor.

District 8 reapings were held in the early mornings. 9 AM, the second earliest of them all. As the tributes slowly gathered into the District square, a thick fog had started to surround the District.

Mollis, the District 8 escort, seemed to not even notice this as he gave a casual smile at the children entering the District square. You really couldn't tell what he was going for here, they all had the same exhausted, _'done with life'_ look on their faces. However, he seemed to be ignoring that.

Mollis was far from the weirdest of all the District escorts but he was still in a league of his own. He was quite childish in both form and personality. Almost if nothing in life could touch him. He took to the mic, waving happily at the crowd. Nobody even cared though.

"Greetings District 8 and welcome to the 97th Hunger Games reaping." He announced.

The crowd continued its silent treatment, all blankly staring at the stage.

Mollis gave a childish, grumpy look at the crowd who just ignored him like he was nothing. "I'll be doing males first this year. For variety reasons." He said as he dipped his hand into the sphere with the names of the teens in the crowd.

For some reason Mollis happened to love building up suspense when it came to pulling out names, usually making it over dramatic. Too bad he didn't understand the true magnitude of what he was doing. You could actually some 12 year olds in the front quietly praying to themselves so they wouldn't get picked. It was... let's just say more than annoying to say the least.

He took around 15 seconds to finish shuffling around the names, looking back up when he finally decided to quit. After he settled with one, He slowly unfolded it. NOW it was starting to get a little annoying.

Eventually though, he took to the mic, beginning to read off the name of who would become the District 8 Male.

" Lukas Kearney." He read slowly.

Slowly but shortly all heads began turning to a certain section in the 17 year olds part of the crowd. Lukas' eyes widened in surprise. By the time his mind had completely registered what was going on around him, all eyes were staring in his direction.

While generally something like this was meant with horrid or panic, Lukas took a deep breath and calmly moved out of the crowd and taking a few steps towards the stage.

You could tell, Lukas wasn't scared. Matter of fact, he looked a little relieved. To be fair, he had a few reasons but you wouldn't know this by just looking at him.

Eventually he made his way to the top of the stairs. Mollis gave a nod of approval. "Oh. You look pretty confident if I say so myself." He announced.

Lukas looked up at the escort. To be honest, while Lukas was very calm and neutral looking… No, he wasn't exactly confident. He just wanted to get as far from 8 as possible at the moment. Maybe if he got home, he wouldn't have to deal with any of the things he'd had dealt with most of his life in 8.

Lukas got up to the stage, keeping his distance but otherwise he kept a very neutral eye as he watched Mollis put his hand in the reaping bowl once more. Everything went silent once more. Matter of fact, this time Lukas was tempted to just scream at Mollis to get on with it. Obviously that would lead to trouble so he just stood their and watched.

Eventually the next name was pulled out and he slowly unfolded and then read the name.

"Wilma Debois." He announced.

Another wave of silence followed while all the heads turned to the girl that would be District 8s tribute. Eventually, everybody had located girl as she began to hyperventilate.

She was also shaking her head, the situation starting to reach her. However, she wasn't moving an inch. This lasted for over 20 seconds before some peacekeepers arrived the drag her to the stage. However, she resisted, kicking and screaming to be let go.

The crowd couldn't do anything but watch with totally modest looks as this continued for a while… Well, anything but-,

"I VOLUNTEER!" A voice rang out.

For a moment, you could probably hear a pin drop not too far away and for good reasons. Volunteering if you were from a lower district mostly meant you were probably suicidal. And while you could argue that whoever shouted this had their reasons, it'd most likely lead them straight to their would have to have been VERY foolish. However, the more shockingly was the voice in which the shout had come from. It was recognizable... but nobody could really pick it up...

"I volunteer." The girl shouted, more calm this time as she began making her way through the 14 year old section.

That's when it had become obvious. The girl was dressed in a very nice dress and looked surprisingly well nourished. She stepped out, Her hand still raised.

Lukas eyes were focused on the girl. _This 14 year old… Just volunteered?_

She continued bravely making her way to the stage. She was silent, but she was quite curious. Everyone around her was staring, quietly watching. A few whispers here and there.

Mollis smiled again. "Ooh. A volunteer. Is this a first for this District?" He asked as the girl reached the stage.

The girl stopped for a moment. Well, she knew that wasn't a question for her but to be honest even she never knew. She hadn't even seen the games before…

However, she ignored the thought and made her way up to the stage, jumping up. "Elaine Sticher. Sunny if you must." She announced.

This name was familiar. Elaine, or better known as Sunny, was one of the brightest and nicest people in all of District 8. She came from a more well off family in the District. While usually those types of families are met with resentment and hatred she was one of the nicest people in the whole district. She would usually show up and help out with many mundane tasks which included lifting boxes, helping walk dogs, giving money or just giving company to people who are lonely.

As her nicknamed name suggested, she was very bright.

 _Now what the hell was she doing volunteering though?_

As the peacekeepers walked off and left the Wilma girl to slowly get up, she tried whispering out a thank you… but really couldn't even bring herself to do that. Her eyes were focused on Sunny, the 14 year old who was now going to take her place. She couldn't even comprehend the situation. She sat in the middle of the crowd.

"District 8! Your tributes!" Mollis announced, motioning the two tributes to shake hands.

Lukas turned to his district partner, slowly but hesitatingly reaching for her hand. However, Sunny quickly reached at his hand and she gently shook it before waving to the crowd.

Lukas glanced at the girl again as she smiled and waved to the crowd.

 _We could not be any different… but somehow… we seem very alike…_

* * *

Sunny stared out the window. While at this time people were heading back to their jobs, some people seemed to have empty of sullen looks on their faces. A lot of them talking to each other on their way. She wondered what they were talking about.

What if they were talking about her…

She took a deep breath before the doors swung upon suddenly. At the door were both of her parents.

"E-Elaine!" Her father shouted as he rushed to her.

"Y-Yes?" She replied.

For a moment, her mother had almost a dumbfounded expression on her face. It was almost like she didn't even know what she had just done.

Well… She really hadn't but…

Her mother had begun to calm down when she asked her a simple question.

"Why?"

That wasn't too hard but it wasn't too easy either. "That other girl was crying that they were going to take her away. I couldn't just stand there and watch." She argued.

Her father, Adam, took a deep breath. Usually, he was a very quiet, nervous and a little pretentious to his peers. However, around his family he was a lot less reserved and found himself trying not to raise his voice.

"Elaine… I understand that what you saw was a bit unnerving but…" He voice went out.

Sunny waited patiently for an answer from him, however nothing came out for a while.

Sunny… didn't exactly understand. From a parent's point of view, you'd love to make sure the games and your children were as far as possible from each other. That was an impossibility… Unless you were rich like the Sticher family. Her Mother managed to bribe the District 8 gamemakers and also kept the TV off when the games were on.

This is where her innocence came from. While this was for the best… this year it ended up being for the worst as well.

Adeline had been afraid of Sunny taking on a lot of responsibility and/or hanging out with the wrong crowd. What was occurring at the moment had only been a small chance, but it was still a possibility.

Adeline grit her teeth, however, she shook her head.

"Elaine. You just don't understand the magnitude of the situation you've just put yourself in. People… People die in the games." She put her hands on her daughter's shoulder.

Sunny nodded. "I know. But I even then, who knows. Maybe I'll win." She suggested.

Adam shook his head.

Of course she thought this was possible. From the little she knew of the games, she wouldn't know of the careers, sponsor, maybe not even the bloodbath.

"Sunny… Please." Her mother hugged her.

At this moment, Sunny really didn't know what to think. She wasn't too nervous, but her parents seemed VERY serious about everything that was transpiring when in actuality, to her it wasn't too different from what she usually did around District 8.

Or so she thought…

After a few minutes of talking with each other, eventually they had to go. Her parents both hugged her, telling her to think of them in serious situations. They both waved sadly as they were forced out the room.

Sunny was all alone now. A certain thought seemed to echo in her head as she thought to herself.

 _What will really happen next?_ She thought to herself...

* * *

 **Thanks to both AbstractTraitorHero and No-Role-Models for Lukas and Sunny respectively. Their personalities are quite intriguing.**

 **You know, I remember rolling my eyes when sometimes SYOT writers don't even bother with the reaping chapters. Now I feel their pain... (Though tbh, writing the goodbyes is the toughest part for me). Ah well, I combined a little bit of D9 to make you aware of the fact that both D9 tributes are written by me. They'll be bloodbath so don't worry. Hopefully you won't have to wait long for the next few.**

 **Fact: Once again, D5 should've been next but I fail to understand how to write well. Eh, we'll get there soon though XD.**

 **OH! And if it's okay with you all, I might want to combine more reapings to speed things along if it's fine with you. Though that's completely up to you.**

 **I'll see you all soon. Night.**

* * *

 **District 2 -** **Magma Stryker** **(17) &** **Cypress Smith (18)**

 **District 4 - Zandra Lithis (17) & Harken "Harry Stone" Mercier (18)**

 **District 7 - Ava Bark (16) & ****Oliver "Ollie" Reed (17)**

 **District 8 - Elaine "Sunny" Sticher (14) & Lukas Kearney (17)**

 **District 9 - Riyal Sunbul (16) & ? ? ?**


	8. A Different Shade (District 5 & 6)

_**Sorry this one took so long to get out. Besides the surpring amount of time it took to add District 6 to the whole chapter, almost giving up a few times in certain sections, my computer breaking (Again) and a whole lot of rewriting I ended up getting sidetracked with testing at school. Sorry if this chapter seems a little out of it because of that.**_

* * *

 **District 6**

The sun was only beginning to rise over District 6 as Lesedi entered the kitchen. Even with the lights out, she managed to make out a slightly small figure sitting at the table.

"Ayana…" She shook her head at her younger sister who sat down at the table, not even looking back up at her sibling.

It took a few moments but Ayana eventually looked up at her mother, giving a worryful face. Even then, nothing came out of her mouth. Her mother gave her a sigh, understanding her worry.

Today was reaping day… And like always Ayana was nervous for her safety. Lesedi went over and turned on the lights, only then noticing that Ayana was also examining a map. It was a map of District 6, her first of many copies [And all done by hand at that].

"What skeme are you working up now?" She questioned, going to wash her face in the sink.

Ayana actually wasn't doing anything in particular. She _had_ been looking at a map and reexamining her first District 6 design and one again, praying that she could find some impossible solution so she wouldn't have to go to the reapings.

She knew it was impossible, but she didn't really care. Even so, looking at the map calmed her senses a little. It gave her a sense of nostalgia from when she explored all of District 6 years ago. Her older sister leaned over and gave an annoyed look at her sister.

"If you're going to be awake 6 hours before reaping you might as well get dressed." She tapped her daughters shoulder.

Ayana didn't even really budge, but she still responded. "What are the chances that either me, Fana or Nuru will be picked." She responded.

This is something she bothered asking every year, so her mother gave a sigh. "1 out of 100 chance." She patted her on the back.

Ayana was unmoved though. "Fine then. I guess I'll see you here at 12. Then we're leave for the square." She got up and headed towards the room.

Ayana opened the room of the bedroom she shared with her younger brother, Nuru. As she entered, the boys eyes opened up a little.

She ignored him though, opening up a the drawer filled with her clothing. However, it was mostly filled to the brim with unfinished maps and other clothing that she didn't even plan on wearing today. After excessively rushing through the drawer, Nuru got up.

"Mom put your clothes on the side of your bed." Nuru spoke up.

Ayana turned around and blushed, a little embarrassed. "Oops. Hehe." She laughed a bit before grabbing her clothes and making her way back downstairs. She swiftly rushed out the door.

* * *

 **District 5**

Even a year after the 96th Hunger Games, District 5 was under heavy monitoring. Every corner of the place was on heavy watch. District 5 was rumored to be planning a sudden rebellion and even if that wasn't true, the Capitol refused to take chances.

Even a year after the 96th Hunger Games, The Capitol was still unwilling to take chances with the rebellious District. As such, peacekeepers were everywhere. Reaping day was no different. In fact, it seemed like reaping day had 70% more peacekeepers surrounding the square than usual. Since peacekeepers and citizens don't exactly mesh well... Well it's best to say it was mood in District 5 was very tense. That was especially true for Zircon, who just happened be standing directly next to one. The peacekeeper next to him kept looking down at him, like he was some sort of suspect in some sort of crime. It was annoying to say the least.

However, the boy continued to keep his composure as Alure, The District 5 Escort made her way to the stage. Though he honestly couldn't help but hold back his look of disgust as she stood up on the stage.

Out of all of the escorts in the business, Alure was probably one of the youngest and also one of the worst...

Her skin was pale looking and her eyes were both four different shades of green and blue. 8 Shades...

Her red, pink and blue fluffy dress made it really hard to understand what direction she was going with when it came to fashion. Though to be fair, nobody actually cared about the freak show on stage. What name came from her mouth would be the real issue...

Anyways, Alure stood on stage, taking a deep breath before speaking right into the microphone.

"Greetings District 5. As always I welcome you to the annual reaping for the Hunger Games. After coming off such a heated victory from the previous year, I don't doubt we'll have another victory on our hands." She began, speaking in a shrill and very highly pitched voice to the annoyance of literally everyone in the crowd.

Meanwhile, a lot of eyes were focusing on Nina, the now 18 year old who won the previous Hunger Games. She stood near the mayor, a clearly out of it look put on her face. The ending of the 96th Games had been unusual to say the least. During the ending, a double suicide was attempted but it ended in complete disaster. Even if most Capitol media presented it as if it was out of love, the clear delivery of it all was quite obvious. They planned on screwing up the games.

However, all faces moved back to Alure as she swiftly dipped her hand into the sphere of male reaping aged children. She ruffled around for a while, almost as if she was playing mind games on the people in the crowd. As each second passed, you could feel more pressure in the air.

However, eventually pulled out a white slip and began slowly unfolding it. Finally, she finished unfolding it and looked out towards the crowd of now anxious children. She opened her mouth...

"Zircon Stardusk." She announced.

As all heads slowly turned to the would-be tribute. The person named Zircon was near the edge of the crowd, a surprise frown formed on his face. He wasn't exactly filled with despair but his eyes showed disappointment, knowing that he'd be inserted into the games and he'd likely die. Swallowing his saliva, he walked out of the 15 year old section and calmly made his way towards the stage. His eyes were blank, solely focusing on what was right in front of him.

He looked quiet. Confused. Not an out of the ordinary reaction but still quite different to say the least. Zircons whole head went blank. He really didn't know what to make of the current situation. Fear? Worry? Nervousness? He was filling a bit of dread... somewhere in that head of his! He just wasn't sure what it was all about. This filling worried him though. He eventually reaped the stage. He took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down a little.

Alure didn't say anything to the boy as he jumped onto the stage. Just an admiring nod and a smile to the rest of the District. Soon, she moved over towards the sphere of reaping aged children that had the female names. Without hesitation she quickly picked a name and began unfolding quickly. There really wasn't even time to get anxious or worried because she quickly read out the name.

"Atom Heller…" She announced into the mic.

For a few seconds, there was no reaction.

Her eyes widened and her pulse accelerated. While she managed to take a deep breath and slowly make her way out of the 17 year old section, she was shaking. There was this hesitation. Not out of fear, but of something else. _On this day… her life would completely fall apart…_

So you know that feeling when you're in a very bad dream and your arms feel like jello in the moment you need the most. Yeah, this was the best way to explain the situation from Atom's point of view. Her very way of life would be affected. She didn't want that! It wasn't supposed to be this way!

Zircon looked up at the girl as she stepped up onstage. Her clothes were **perfect**. Well, perfectly groomed he meant. Same with her hair. It was quite a contrast to the rest of the district. It wasn't even like she looked rich or anything. She just looked... really... well put together. However, her stance said otherwise. The look in her eyes said otherwise.

By the time she reached the stage her body was trembling and she was breathing heavily. Alure smiled. "District 5! Your tributes for the 97th Annual Hunger Games!" She announced with excitement. As a few in the back began clapping, Alure had motioned the two take quickly shakes hands. However, the two did not do so and instead focused on either the crowd or looked at the floor with contempt.

Zircon however did peek at his District partner for a small instance. He was wondering if she'd be a challenge in the games. Atom wasn't thinking about her District partner though. In fact she really couldn't think. Her mouth remained opened as if she was frozen in a state of shock...

* * *

 **District 6**

Tobias sat alone in the Justice Building. He was still chocking up a little. Though he had calmed down a little, he couldn't bring himself to accept what had just happened. He had just been reaped for the games. It was so sudden in fact. His last year being eligible for reaping and suddenly he was the District 6 tribute for the 97th Games. He was supposed to turn 19 in only 5 days... and yet this happened. It's almost like a cruel joke...

He wished he hadn't cried like he did... or at all. He made himself look weak to the entire nation and now nobody would take him seriously. However, he stood up thinking about it. He had some strengths. He was pretty durable and also pretty tough himself. However, he was still doubting what he could do in the games.

However, his thoughts were interrupted when the door opened revealing Benita, one of his friends from the orphanage he used to live at.

"I... I can't believe this." He said as he made his way into the room. Benita was one of those kids you wouldn't expect to ever hang around Tobias. His long blonde hair, blue eyes and cute freckles made him a pretty sight out of all the worn out, dead looking teens in the District. He and Tobias had been friends for almost forever. He's quite funny and such an interesting person overall. However, as he walks in his eyes looked angered.

"This couldn't have been some damn coincidence. It's like they knew everything that you're going through." He glared out the window.

Tobias looked up, giving a puzzled look. "Huh?" He questioned his friend.

"You know. You were going to be 19 in only a couple days. That and your girls pregnant. Now you've been reaped. Ugh." He says, putting his back against the wall.

For a moment after this, they were both quiet. Unable to bring themselves to speak to each other. Then again this wasn't too out of the ordinary for Tobias, being socially awkward and having a hard time finding continuing conversations. Something was a little off with his friend though. Benita was usually quite chill so this was actually quite out of the ordinary.

Out of nowhere though, the door swung open. Both of them faced the door as somebody rushed in.

"T-Tobias..." A girl rushed over to Tobias, hugging him.

"... Amanda." Tobias said to her, hugging her back.

Amanda was his 22 year old girlfriend. They had recently moved in together and now she was pregnant. They were supposed to have a future. One that wouldn't involve trouble... and well, life or death situations. For the first time in forever, Tobias had been happy. His future had been looking bright. Soon he wouldn't even have to worry about things like the Hunger Games. Just getting a perfect job for his perfect family. _Now his life was about to fall apart._

Then they went silent again. Eventually, Benita spoke up again. "You know, now that I think about it... What do you plan on doing?" He asked.

Tobias gave an irritated look over at his friend. He wasn't exactly sure about the answer but this was a question he just didn't want to answer anyways.

"Hey. Don't worry about it. At least for now. All you need to worry about is getting those sponsor. I bet if you get the crowd on your side then nothing can stop you." She assured him.

Tobias thought for a moment. Was that really true? Could he really manage to get the crowd to like him? He isn't exactly somebody anyone could relate to. In fact he was already sure the other tributes and even the Capitol had already dismissed him the moment he had begun crying on his way to the stage. He shook his head.

"I doubt it." He sadly said, his head facing the concrete floor.

Amanda put her hands on his shoulders. "Yeah. I see where you're coming from. But please, break through that wall and show the Capitol who you really are. Show them what you showed me." She suggested, giving an understanding nod.

That was the thing about Amanda. She was a very understanding person. Even in the face of an awful situation she would remain calm and she tried helping anybody through those situations.

They continued discussing their thoughts what they should do until it was time for Amanda and Benita to go. Before they left though, both of them went back and hugged Tobias.

"Don't let up." Benita told his friend, before heading out.

Amanda stayed for a few more moments. She didn't want to leave Tobias. She couldn't bring herself to do so. They were together, and they were supposed to be together forever. She hugged him before getting up.

"Don't be afraid. Think of me." She told him before slowly walking out the room. She looked back at him one last time before leaving.

Once again, Tobias was left in the dark. He wasn't exactly sure whether anyone else would visit him or not, so he just lay back on the wall. He wondered how much of a chance he stood. Well... He had no combat experience and zero survival skills. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he tried to move his thoughts against that.

He didn't want to die, but more importantly he didn't want to leave everything behind. He had such bad memories in 6, yet he wanted to stay.

Suddenly though, the door swung open once more. Tobias jolted upwards, having not expected anyone besides Benita and Amanda. He looked towards the door as his sister came rushing in.

"Tobias!" She shouted as she made her way into the room.

Tobias looked up at his sister. Her eyes were sad, but still quite neutral. Out of all the people in his family, his sister Ace was one of the few people who really treated him well. His family usually spent their time tearing him apart, up until they died at least.

Really his sister (And sometimes his brother) were really close.

"So... How have you been doing?" She asked him, sounding only slightly cold.

He took a deep breath. "Um. Fine. Moved out of the orphanage. Moved in with Amanda." He revealed.

Ace nodded. "Oh. I see." She looked away for a moment. She looked out the window. Tobias looked up at her. He was wondering what she was thinking about. Was she disappointed? Regretful? Something had to be going on in that head of hers!

"A-Are you okay?" He asked.

Ace looked over to Tobias again. "Kind of. Just... After all this..." She clenched her fist.

Tobias really didn't know what to say now. Everybody was talking to him like their was no chance they'd ever see him again. As if they regretted everything that had happened to him. Like he didn't stand a chance.

He thought for another moment, looking right up at the ceiling. _What's with everything?_ He understand that their was a chance he wasn't coming home, probably larger than he was sure of... But he wanted to grasp onto another possibility, that he could come home.

His sister sighed. She eventually opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but right when she did, a peacekeeper walked in.

"Time's up." He announced to them.

Ace was beginning to walk away, however she quickly turned around and pulled something out of her pocket.

"Oh! Here. Take this." She handed him a small screw. Tobias only looked up at her with a confused face.

"What's this for?" He asked.

Ace sighed. "It's just a screw. It'll remind you of home when you're in a place of insecurity. It's all I've got." She said, lowering her head and turning around. She slowly walked around all of the furniture before turning around one last time. She sighed, heading out the door.

A peacekeeper quickly slammed the door shut, leaving Tobias all alone in the goodbye room. He took a deep breath.

"Do I really stand a chance..." He said to himself.

* * *

Ayana looked out the window, quietly staring out longingly as people walked around the District square as if nothing had happened the entire day. She could sit it from where she sat. A man walking a dog. A child with a sibling, laughing together as they left a store. An old man sitting outside the very same store. A tired look sat on his face.

Suddenly someone came through the door. Well, a few people actually. The first person in the door was her younger brother Nuru who quickly hugged her. "Sis..." He seemed o be crying as he tightly held her. Well, actually he was crying but it was more or less coming out as slow sobs. Seeing Nuru cry like this quickly hurt Ayana. Sometimes they didn't see their mother much and Fana was always shut away, withdrawn from that.

Soon afterwards, the rest of her family entered the room. Her mother, quickly rushed into the room. Contrast to her older sister, Fana, who slowly made her way into the room, her eyes facing the floor.

"Ayana." Her mother hugged her tightly. For a moment she almost felt a little embarrassed. However, that feeling of embarrassment only ended up making her feel worse off than she had just before. After all this could possibly be the last time she'd ever see them. She could already feel some tears forming once more. However, she quickly shoved those thoughts far back in an attempt to not worry her family.

Her mother was still holding onto her quite tightly though. However, she began to speak up after a few seconds. "I can't believe this. First your dad. And now you... I don't think I can deal with this." She quietly said.

Ayana didn't really know how to respond. Years ago their father had just up and vanished. Since then their mom had worked hard on getting money for the family. Sometimes they didn't really see each other much.

"Ayana..." Fana spoke up, her bangs covering her eyes.

Ayana paid close attention as she'd begun to speak to her.

"Please come home for us. Even if you don't believe you can do it, I want you to try. For us." She told her.

Ayana nodded. "I'll try. I'll do it for you."

To be completely honest, she tried to push away the feeling of doubt in her mind. She gave a more remorseful look to her family. She didn't want to go, that was obvious. She especially didn't want the weight of this to be all over her family. They had already lost their father. She looked back up to her family.

Soon though, her family would be forced to leave and they would say goodbye. However, before they did, Nuru handed over a token. It was an old, dusted up map that they had made together. On the back was a picture of them, Fana, and their parents all together.

"Thank you." She hugged her brother goodbye, and then he left.

The second person who came visiting was a good friend of Ayana. Glindie Samovar. Glidnie was practically an outcast, living in a train car near the outskirts of the city. She always enjoyed telling stories about the places the train had gone. She also gave her maps which was a plus.

She walked in slowly. Her face was a little uncomfortable but otherwise she looked fine. She looked around the room, noting it's fancy and detailed style. However, she quickly focused her eyes back on her friend before walking over to her and sitting in a chair across the table from her.

"Ayana... I..." She began speaking. Ayana payed close attention. Glindie looked away for a moment. She remained silent, seeming as if she was having a hard time digesting what was going on. It was actually quite out of character considering she was usually quite casual and uncaring. You could be doing something utterly dumb and she would just give a shrug in response.

She was quite the friend to have. Seeing her seem even slightly worked up about this was... Strange to say the least.

Ayana really wanted to say something. However, she could barely even work up her nerve. She was still in shock over the whole reaping thing EVEN if she had stopped crying hours ago. This whole day had been a daze for her. Almost everything seemed so wrong. Like a bad dream. Though the only difference was the fact that in a dream, you don't recognize the things that are wrong. A dream could go from bad to better.

 _I mean? Not saying I can't win. I don't want to die! I'm going in and maybe I can come out if I play the cards correctly... But I don't really stand a chance do I?_

This whole scenario was causing the world to move at 100 miles per hour for her. For a moment she didn't even realize Glindie was sitting across from her, actually starting to speak up now.

"I... I don't know." Was the first thing she mustered. For a moment Ayana didn't really know what Glindie meant or how to respond to it but eventually she decided to reply.

"I guess we're on the same page already. I don't know either." Ayana looked to the ground.

Really neither one of them knew how to react. Glindie seemed mostly in a state of shock, lost in a daze. Ayana just didn't want to believe any of this was happening. She took a deep breath.

"Thanks for the maps." Ayana found herself thanking Glindie for the things she had done for her. While the things she had fun doing were seen as novelty by many, the sheer fact that anybody cared was nice. She thanked Glindie for being there.

Glindie really struggled to let out words. This was mostly strange because Glindie was never a quiet person. I mean, she was chill and was here and there but she talked more than her... so that was a start.

"I really have no words." Glindie admitted. However, she looked back up at her friends. "Give them hell. That's the only thing I can say." And all at once, she left.

Ayana was left with a confused look on her face. Did she bale out of embarrassment, regret or something like that? Ayana looked down at her shoes.

 _And give them hell... How?_

Ayana sighed. "..."

* * *

 **District 5**

Zircon sat by the window of the room he occupied in the Justice Building. The lights had been left out for some reason, it was very unusual but he wasn't even going to bother by asking they be turned on. Even in the darkness though, he could still see how fancy the Justice Building room was. The wall was a plain grey but everything else was bright in color or design.

A white carpet. Four curved lounge chairs, all colored a bright red. A glass table in the middle. This was all alien to him, even for District 5 standards.

At this point, Zircon had been in this room by himself for a few hours and he was already starting to hunger.

"Zircon!" Suddenly, a voice came in from the hallway. He recognized it in an instant. His younger sister, Zinc, came bursting through the doors. Even in the dark Zircon could see that her face was completely covered in tears. She was still crying too! She quickly rushed up and hugged her step-brother. Still whaling and tearing out.

Zircon held onto her as she cried into his chest. "I'm so sorry! I've been such a horrible sister!" She sobbed.

For a moment, he was honestly perplexed. He didn't understand why but seeing his usually annoying sister this broken down affected him. Soon afterwards, his mother rushed into the room. All at once, she hugged her son. "Z-Zircon." She hugged him hard. She was almost crying.

"Son. I love you." She said to him, squeezing Zircon firmly between her arms. Zircon really couldn't speak. Well, for one this was actually quite a first. His mother barely showed him any love since most of that was reserved for Zinc.

Really Zircon didn't know what to think about the current situation. He couldn't exactly bring himself to respond to his families emotions. Even so, his mother wasn't exactly crying. In fact, she was holding onto him. Almost as if letting go would cause him to slip off away. Still though, Zircon really couldn't respond.

Soon afterwards, his mother let go of him. She still wasn't crying but she wiped her face as of she was ridding of any molecules of tears. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It was hard to tell what was going through his mothers head. Anger? Regret? Was she mourning him when he wasn't even close to death?

The moment felt very odd. His mother was silent while Zinc continuously cried in the background.

"I'm such an awful sister! I've caused nothing but trouble for you! Please don't go!" She sobbed heavily.

Zircon wanted to quickly rush to his sister and just hug her but he honestly didn't know what to do. Moments would pass before anybody else would say anything. After some time his mother eventually brought herself to say something.

"Zircon. I'm sorry for how you've been treated. I'll be honest and tell you that I hope you come home." His mother confessed, coldly. Zircon looked over at his mom with even more confusion now. He wasn't sure whether to be surprised or not to have heard this from her. Zircon only looked down at his shoes.

Out of nowhere, Zinc rushed in and hugged her brother. Still sobbing.

Everything was going at nearly 100 miles per hour for him. He had no time to think. Everything was just so... Off... He could barely even process anything. He wanted to break down but at the same time he didn't. At the same time he couldn't. All at once... Everything just seemed to... Well to put it lightly, stop.

"... Zircon." Zircon quickly looked over to his right. Volt, his step father, was standing over on the other side of the room. It seemed like he had just entered the room.

Zircon and Volts relationship was... Obviously quite odd. While he attempts to be the father Zircon never had he always ended up coming off as more controlling than anything. Considering the fact that Zircon could be quite all over the place was especially not good.

Volt knelled down in front of his step son. Zircon looked away slightly. "Zircon..." He suddenly felt the hands of his step dad on his shoulder.

Zircon looked up at him. Volt was looking at the floor, but he began speaking to him. "I know this may be a situation you're confused about... Same here but... Do the usual. Disengage. Don't try and fight anyone. Stay out of sight... And keep running." He told his son.

Zircon slightly rolled his eyes. He was already going to do that anyways. It was really the only thing he could do.

"Is that all?" Zircon replied, sounding a bit annoyed. He didn't mean to be that way though. Volt, in response only nodded and stood away.

Soon, time was up and his family had to go. Zinc continued to bawl her eyes out. Zircon gave her a hug and gave his goodbye. Volt put her on her shoulder as she cried and reached for her brother. "NO!" She cried.

Eventually his mother would also leave for the doorway. Quickly though, Zircon asked one last question to his mom. "D-Do... You have token?" He asked.

Not facing her son, she shook her head. "I... It'll distract you from what needs to be done." She responded coldly. That disappointed Zircon. He was really hoping for his notebook. That was one of the places he felt together.

His mom spoke up once more though."... Come home. Alive." She stood in the doorway. One last time, she looked behind herself... Then left.

As the room emptied, Zircon sat alone in the room again. He put his knees closely to his chest as he sat up in his chair. His mind was blank again. He couldn't exactly process what was happening. However, he took a deep breath and looked over at the door.

"I'll do what I can." He breathed, before looking out the window.

Everything was quiet again... Well, that was until the door swung right open again. Zircons head quickly jerked over to the scene of the sound.

Out of nowhere, somebody grabbed onto him. Hugging him tightly. "Zircon!" She cried, holding onto him.

"R-Ratchette! I... I can't breath." He said as the girl hugged him closely.

She looked up at her friend. "Y-You're going though. What else should I do?" She begged for answers.

Zircon gave a confused look. Eventually another person walked into the room. A taller boy. He squatted down next to the two. At first, he mirrored Zircons look but it eventually turned to a more neutral smile.

"I can't believe it..." He lamented.

Zircon nodded. "Yeah, I guess. What about you? Tanz?" He shrugged.

Tanz chewed on his tongue for a moment. "You... Really don't know what to think about this do you?" Tanz replied.

Zircon shook his head. Honestly the whole world was moving quickly. He really never had a chance to put any of this to thought. He sat their with his friends for moments on end. The two talked to him. Telling him they understood him and hoped for the best. Zircon wanted to tell them that he knew he was already trying to come up with some way through. He wasn't planning on just giving right up and letting go. However, he never got that chance.

Well, that was until the moment it was time for his friends to go and Ratchette gave a sad look. Wiping away some remaining tears, she nodded and began leaving the room. Tanz took a few moments, but as he got up he looked over at Zircon.

"I bet you're working on some new scheme as we speak." He admitted, a small grin forming on his face. Tanz looked out the window. The clouds slowly uncovering the sun. Zircon looked up and nodded.

They knew each other so well. They were practically brothers. Always getting into trouble together. They always had each others backs.

"Thank you. And I wish you good luck." Zircon nodded to his friend. Then, Tanz left.

Once again. Everything had gone silent... Leaving Zircon to think about what would happened next...

* * *

Atom didn't know exactly why but she was shaking. Something in her was causing her mind to be a little distorted. She took a deep breath, looking around herself. The room was dark an cold. However, she doubted that her shaking was mere shivering. Obviously it was a reaction. Her reaction to the reapings.

Her mind couldn't really figure it out. She had been in this room for 2 hours now as each one of her friends slowly made their way in, talked with her and wished her good luck before darting it off. Some cried, others were more calm. However, Atom had remained the same through and throughout. She remained still. Quiet. Shaking. Thinking about what was happening.

She had her knees to her chest, not crying but merely... reflecting. Suddenly though, their was a weird whisper sound that started coming from the direction of the door. Atom lifted her head, looking over towards the door that was in front of her. A creaking sound came from it as it slowly opened. This grabbed her attention as it slowly but continuously opened. A small figure looked through the door.

"Atom?" A girl came from the door, peaking her head through the light that came from the hallway outside of the room.

This was Deena. Atoms closest friend. She made a blank look as she entered the room. Noticing a light switch to her left, she turned it on. The two were very close friends, which when you think about it is admittedly strange considering their contrasting personalities. While Atom held her ground, stayed quiet and didn't speak much compared to others, her friend Deena was unreserved, confident and overall far different from Atom.

Deena turned around and looked over at her friend who seemed to be slumped in her chair, knees to her chest. Deena slowly took a seat in the chair parallel to her friends.

"Atom..." She breathed out her friends name, struggling to start somewhere with a conversation. This was actually kind of odd. She knew exactly what buttons to press to get her talking but... well so far she seemed dead. It only took her a split second to understand this though. Atom struggled with change. She wants stability in her life. To her, loss of stability means loss of self.

 _To her, the world must be ending..._ Deena wasn't about to just ask if she was alright. It obviously wasn't. It was clear from how she seemed to act that everything was just... gone.

Deena took a deep breath, trying to get her friend to open back up, even for a moment. Deena stood back up, walking over to Atom. Atom still didn't move, her head still lowered.

She sat down directly next to her friend. Atom finally turned and looked over at Deena. However, nothing actually came out of her mouth.

Honestly, she had no real idea how to react. Then again, neither did Deena. Her only goal was really to keep her quiet friend comforted in a period of time where she would feel distorted. She held Atoms hand and squeezed it. Atom looked down at her friend.

Deena only nodded in response. As time moved on, Deena held onto her friend. Wanting her to have something to hold onto and something to think about. A piece of her world to hold onto. There was very little talking. No sobbing. It was a mostly quiet meeting.

Soon, a peacekeeper walked into the room. "Times up." He ordered Deena out of the room.

Deena got up and silent rubbed her friends hair. Atom looked up at her, a feeling of sadness boiling inside.

"One more thing Atom." She said. Deena quickly reached into her pocket with her left hand. She held onto Atoms other hand with her free hand, squeezing it. She handed her a Token before kissing her on the cheek and leaving the room.

Atom opened her hand, the one the item was left in. The token Deena had left her was a soft, redd-ish gold brooch. She held onto it tightly and whispered to herself.

"Thank you."

* * *

 **District 9**

Agota, the District 9 escort, quickly pushed Riyal ahead towards the District 9 train and through all the cameras. Riyal felt dizzy. Of course she volunteered on purpose but now with all of this happening for real... She could barely even comprehend what would come next. She almost didn't notice the boy who would be going into the arena with her. The boy, Corrin. His face was tearful. Unlike Riyal, he didn't know of the plan...

* * *

 **Big thanks to** **AbstractTraitorHero and Cloudoffeathers for Atom and Zircon. And don't forget, MessyModgePodge and BabyRue11 for Ayana and Tobias. All of them are such intriguing characters that are fun to write.**

 **Getting Atoms personality kind of worried me. She's especially deep in personality and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to replicate it without messing it up or leaving out too much. I don't know if I got it right or not.**

 **The section with Ayana was actually the first thing I ever did for this story, just repurposed a little.** **Though yeah leaving out the D6 reapings was a pretty dumb move on my part for leaving it out :|. My apologies to both MessyModgePodge and BabyRue.**

 **I soooo wanna get to the train ride segments. Character interactions are so fun to write. So far we've got 5 more reapings so... Yeah, this might take a while. Anybody wanna make predictions on how long it'll take? If you're accurate I'll give you a cookie...**

 _Have a happy [Insert holiday you celebrate this month here] and I wish you all peace for the rest of 2017. Sorry for taking so long..._

* * *

 **District 2 -** **Magma Stryker** **(17) &** **Cypress Smith (18)**

 **District 4 - Zandra Lithis (17) & Harken "Harry Stone" Mercier (18)**

 **District 5 - Atom Heller (17) & Zircon Stardusk (15)**

 **District 6 - Ayana** Mercate **(15) and Tobias Elliot (18)**

 **District 7 - Ava Bark (16) & ****Oliver "Ollie" Reed (17)**

 **District 8 - Elaine "Sunny" Sticher (14) & Lukas Kearney (17)**

 **District 9 - Riyal Sunbul (16) & Corrin Miller (13)**


	9. A Cold Reflection (District 11 & 12)

**District 11**

District 11 was a strange case. It was one of, if not the poorest District in the Capitol. Of course, this could be due to District 11 being one of the larger districts. The District was split into a multitude of plantation villages, with each of them surrounding 4 squares in the District.

Now for reaping, the way to get to the square was usually by train. Today, Cane Nettle and his little sister Maria were walking to the square. Honestly the only reason they chose to do this was because the train was always full and unsanitary. Since the reaping square was only a few miles from where they worked, they would be free from all the stress of the train.

Well, that was Maria's excuse anyways.

Honestly, Cane just wanted the reapings to pass. In District 11, the off chance of being reaped was already pretty low considering it was the largest District by far. If he was correct, there had only been one or two instances of somebody from their little village being reaped. Of course, it could happen again. As long as their were more games there were chances but otherwise he didn't expect to be reaped.

Even so, maybe his friend Duncan would volunteer for him? Duncan was one of his good friends. The one he knew best. The kid always getting straight As in school. The one that refused to eat in order to give his food to his younger siblings. No doubt, if it came to the moment he bet he was volunteering for him.

Cane licked his lips as he and his sister crossed the old rusted railroads that led straight into the 3rd District Square, the one they'd be going to for the reaopings. Otherwise, Can was just hoping for reaping to end. The sun was starting to slowly but shortly set over 11. After reapings, he'd go back to his grandfathers house only a few miles off and they'd rest. Cane was already exhausted after working so hard on the fields.

However, he swalled this annoyance as he and his little sister entered the square for reapings.

So District 11s escort was a young man named Amare. He was actually quite unique compared to some of the other escorts. His clothes were simpler than most in the business first off. He wore a simple black and purple suit with his eyes being a matching color. His hair was long and jet black and flowing in the District 11 wind. Personality wise, he just had a flare to him that made him different. He quite a confident, but also fierce look as the squares slowly filled up. He was in the main square, the one that was in the center of the District.

District 11s reapings were different compared to the other reapings. The District escort would be shown on a giant screen and would reap the name. Wherever that child was, they'd be taken into the games.

After the mayor of 11 finished reading off the Treaty of Treason, Amare gave a hearty smile and waved. He couldn't physically see any of the crowds but he didn't act like it.

"Hello District 11. Glad you could all make it for the 97th Hunger Games. With each games, I feel as if 11 is coming closer to victory. This one I bet you're gonna score a big one." He nodded, as the camera aimed at the reaping ball.

He snatched a name out of the female name spere before holding it in his hand. He then unfolded it once before looking up the camera and politely smiling.

"And our female tribute is Rena Smith of the Victoriana Plantation village." He announced.

The Victoriana village is the northernmost plantation and comparably one of the most populated ones. From what was seen on the projection, their was a giant silence followed by the cameras trying to find this Rena girl. Eventually, Rena found herself being faced by multiple people and her eyes widened. Her face beamed red brightly. It seemed like she was about to burst out and start screaming right then and there. She stood their for a while, not even daring to move. All of a sudden, it seemed like the peacekeepers were going to rush her and force her up the stage when-,

"I VOLUNTEER!"Somebody near the front of the square shouted. A wave of confusion fell over the entire District. As shown on screen, the cameraman quickly moved his camera, trying to find the source of the voice.

Soon, this wave of confusion turned to shock as a 13 year old girl stepped out and began making her way to the stage.

"Who the hell is that?"

"Is she crazy?"

"You can't be serious..."

People around 11 as this girl got the stage. She had a look of confidence as she stood up on the stage by herself... But why did she do this...

The camera quickly moved back to Amara, who's eyes reflected the reaction of District 11. Even he was quite shocked. However, he began to speak once more.

"Ooh. A volunteer. I don't think we've had one of these in... Well a while." He admitted. "Your name?" He asked the girl.

"Iris Ricolte." She announced to the crowd.

"That's quite a fiery name. I like your spirit girl." He responded to the name.

People stared up at the screen with confusion. _Who was this girl? Why was she doing this and why was she as confident as she was?_

"Either somethings up or she's suicidal"

"Suicidal, I'd say"

People were only left confused as she nodded to the camera.

"Anyways. Onto our male tribute." He announced, giving a confident smile towards the camera. The camera watched as he rotated his hand through the names until finally stopping. The moment of truth arrived as he quickly unfolded the next name.

Taking a deep breath before looking out into the crowd, he quickly read the name.

"Cane Nettle." He announced.

Distrcict Square Number 3. Cane almost shouted. The chances. He had just been reaped for the games. However, he quickly calmed down. He wasn't too custom to the rules but there was one thing that happened every now and then in the games. The chances of somebody volunteering for him. Somebody had to do it! SOMEBODY!

He slowly got out of the 17 year old section. _Maybe Duncan? He''ll have to!_

However, nothing. He was still walking slowly, awaiting something. However, nothing happened.

Just nothing... Quiet. His stomach dropped. This... This wasn't good. He thought the chances of getting reaped were low... _That didn't mean it wasn't possible._ As the peacekeepers escorted him onto the stage, he was trying his hardest not to get angry.

He clenched his fists with anger. However, he didn't make a move or anything by the time he got to the stage.

"This is it. Our tributes for the 97th Annual Hunger Games from District 11." Amare announced, nodding the camera before the big projection faded to black.

* * *

 **District 12**

Reaping day ins District 12 was very.. off putting to say the least. A giant grey cloud of smog was covering nearly the entire District. People desperately covered their faces, trying to find their way towards the District square. People were running into walls, bumping into each other, coughing like crazy. It was a surprise anybody managed to get to District 12 square, no less the entire child population.

The smog was only a small addition to the whole troublesome District 12 scene. Nothing had changed in the decades. People were still dying of hunger. The District was still divided between seam and the merchant village outside of the square. They hadn't had a victor in many years. The last one being Katniss Everdeen who won the 74th Hunger Games. There was also Haymitch Abernathy who had won the 50th Hunger Games, however he had passed away recently due to various circumstances, the most prominent one being his alcoholism...

Wella, The District 12 Escort, had these thoughts rushing around her head a lot. She had only been in 12 for a year and it still bothered her. I mean, half of her thought she was better then 12 while the rest could feel sympathy for the District.

She could barely even see 2 feet in front of herself as she took to the stage. Apparently there were rows of children in front of her. She couldn't see a single one of them though...

Either way, while Wella was usually pretty intrigued for reaping day but today she really couldn't bring herself to care any less. The gloomy mood mixed with the silence that followed once she was on stage caused her to force herself to get straight to the point and quickly reap the male and female names for the District. She just wanted to get this next

Swiftly, she reached into the clear sphere that held all of the male names for reaping aged children of the District.

Licking her green and blue lips, she pulled out a white slip and looked up around her. She moved over to the mic before taking a deep breath.

"Kolton White." She announced, awaiting the sounds of shuffling of feet and maybe a tribute somehow finding their way through the clouds of smog that covered the district square.

Even with the darkness the shrouded the District, heads turned towards the would be tribute. Kolton himself was actually quite shocked. While getting reaped was the fear of any kid in any District growing up, he didn't expect to get reaped. Not now.

Soon the people around him were all staring at him, expecting him to make a move. This was almost a bad dream. Grey smog surrounded him and the few things he could see were the faces of people he didn't even know... Kolton managed to collect himself and slowly attempted to find his. Eventually he found himself heading towards where he assumed to stage was. The smog made it practically impossible to see anyways but somehow he ended up on the stage with Wella.

He turned back towards the crowd, whom of which was impossible to see from where he stood. He stared out with a annoyed glare, though this was not out of contempt as he was struggling to grasp other issues.

By being reaped, he would be leaving his little brother alone. Alone with his dad... And could he really trust his dad? He grit his teeth at the thought. Wella payed him no mind and quickly went to go reap the female name.

In an instant, she had another name right out and was prepared to read it off.

"Marja Vanhanen." She announced.

Now the girl in question, Marja, silently moved out of her section and moved towards the stage. She didn't shake. She didn't weep or cry. Her face was emotionless and silent. It was almost as if her fate honestly wasn't a big deal. As if she was coming back no matter what or something like that. Eventually she jumped up onto the stage and was greeted by Wella.

Kolton paid her no mind. For now, his thoughts remained on himself and his family. How would his brother be affected by his departure? What would he do in the games to ensure his survival.

He looked over at Marja, his district partner. Emotionless. Her face was neutral and silent. He wondered about her. Naturally, you'd be freaked out to be reaped. Horrified. Kolton may have been slightly cool, but he could only hold this composure so long. What was this Marja girl all about...

"And there we have it. The District 12 tributes for the 97th Hunger Games." Wella announced.

There was no applause. A light silence followed. Quite the risk, but that was just how District 12 worked.

Wella gave an annoyed eye roll and escorted both tributes into the justice building.

* * *

Though he had been thinking of the games and the possibilities, Kolton was pretty bored as he gazed out the frosted window. It wasn't like he could even see out of the window, he was just bored. Koltons head still ran rampant with ideas though. He wasn't just gonna fall straight into a pit of despair and let himself die in the games. He was going to fight. He was going to try his hardest to win even if the possibilities were quite... low...

Maybe even do some of the things seen in recent Hunger Games? The 96th...

Eventually though he could feel himself shivering. He cold feeling of dread spell over him. He was a little anxious. He decided to move his thoughts to something else. His family... Well, Troy and his dad. This thought made him tense up more than usual. He was going to be leaving his younger brother Troy with, well his dad. He couldn't trust his dad after... Well-,

However as soon as he got to thinking he heard the door creak open. Koltons eyes quickly darted to the other side of the room. Eventually the door opened and looking over, Kolton found Troy peaking his head through the door. Troy made his way through the room and hugged his older brother quickly.

"You're leaving?" He ached with sadness as he held his brother closely. In response, Kolton nodded. "Yeah." He replied.

Troy was usually very upbeat and joyful, even after all they went through. He really didn't want to leave him behind...

Soon his father walked in. His eyes showed disappointment. Koltons eyes reflected it, but Kolton was more resentful than disappointed.

"I... I can't believe this..." Koltons dad sighed.

"I bet..." He sarcastically nodded.

His dad caught onto it quickly and began speaking. "Look. Kolton. I know you have some problems with me but here me out." He began.

Kolton and Troy both sat up, awaiting what there father had to say.

"You know... While I may have kind of stood back for a lot of your life for a time... I truly love you two-,"

"Yeah. We know." Kolton coldly cut off his father. To be completely honest, even Kolton could admit that was a little harsh of him. However he honestly couldn't forgive him for it.

Kolton couldn't forgive his father for just sitting there and letting his mother treat them the way she did for OH so many years. Sitting back and drinking the way he always used to do and watch as she physically and mentally tortured him and his younger brother. No, he wasn't exactly going to forgive that. It was unacceptable.

"Well... Kolton. Just know this." He nodded to his sons.

Kolton and Troy both looked up to their dad, wondering what he was going to ask. "I'm sorry I let your mothers treat you like that for so long." He struggled apologized. Soon after he said this, Troy up and left the room.

"Yeah. I guess." He stopped in the doorway. He turned around to his older brother. His voice slowly fades, but he begins to say one thing. "Please. Survive and come back." He says before running off.

Koltons dad sighs, looking down at the floor. "I.. I wish you the best of luck in the games. I know you can do it. I've seen you get out of-,"

"Yeah. I'm a strategist and stuff. I'm not sure if that'd help me though..." Kolton admitted, a little disappointment in his voice.

"Well... Try your hardest. I love you son." Koltons dad said to his son.

Kolton looked over to the window. "Yeah." He responded.

Almost seeming ashamed, Koltons dad began to vacant the room. He shook his head before looking back at his son one more time before heading right back out the door. The door shut, leaving Kolton alone once more in a room by himself.

Kolton sighed to himself.

 _Hm..._

* * *

Majra sat all by herself, sitting in the chair that out looked the District square and the town outside of it. Wasn't like it was visible. She knew what was there, but she also didn't with all of the smog and frost blocking the view. It almost like a reflection of her current state of mind, almost completely blank.

Eventually though, the room was not as empty as it was before when one by one, Marjas friends entered the goodbye room. Prior to this Marja had almost seemed indifferent and emotionless towards the whole reaping thing. It was part of her strange side. Where she almost seemed to not care about anything or anyone. However, the moment all of her friends entered the room she felt herself choking up. She was good at hiding her emotions, but eventually she was starting to sob, and that soon turned to pure tears.

The first person to rush up and hug her was her younger brother, Seth.

He didn't say anything, nor did he cry. He just hugged her as if it'd be there last day together. They had grown up under the same roof and with the same parents for much of their lives. For a while, they may have been on separate roads but that didn't matter to him. They stayed close, even if they felt far apart.

"I can't-, I just can't believe this is-," Marja tried speaking up but she could barely get anything out.

Seth already understood anyways. Though he was wondering... He wondered if this really was their last day together. He prayed it wasn't. Even if District 12 hadn't had a victor in decades, there was a sort of spark in the back of his sisters mind that had him curious. Maybe this would help her stand a chance?

The next person to begin speaking up was Kauko, her boyfriend. They had known each other for a long time and had gotten together a while back. They had been close together through and throughout.

"I... I want you to know how much I care about you." He lamented, not crying but at a point where it'd seemed like he would. He held her hands together and looked up at her.

Marja nodded back at him, trying not to fall apart.

Seth looked out the window. "You know. Mom and dad told me... They didn't know you were even alive currently." He said, leaning against the windowpane.

Marja looked up towards her brother. "Huh? Oh. Did they say anything... else?" She asked.

Seth looked down. "Yeah... They thought you deserved it." He said, making a grunting noise as if he was annoyed about this comment.

"Oh... I was expecting something like that." She admitted to the side.

"Don't bother listening to them. We're lucky to have somebody like you. We... We wish you good luck and hope you come home. Safely preferably..." Kauko almost struggled with the last two words.

Marja had wondered. She had never seen him act this... this way.

He turned to her and hugged her, gave a small kiss to the forehead and left out he door. Her brother did the exact same motion. However before he left, he asked her a favor.

"Do what you must." He begged her before exciting the room.

Marja only half knew what it meant. She had already been determined to do what she needed to...

 _But does he mean exactly what I think..._

 _She looked out of the window and gazed. The window reflected the thoughts in her head. She knew what was there... But she didn't..._

* * *

 _ **Thanks to Professor Boo.k and ExplodingQuasar for Kolton and Marja respectively and another big thanks to LuluTheFox and Clouds for Cane and Iris respectively.** Though next time we see 11, I'll try and have more of the two as there was very little and also I moved the District 11 goodbyes to next chapter for... Well reasons involving me taking far too long. _

_**One. More. Reaping. To. Go!** So excited to get these done. Sorry for the long delays started last chapter. After the next reaping I swear it'll most likely stop and we'll get to the train rides... Which I can't wait to get to. _

_Thanks for reading. See you soon._


	10. Growing Apart (District 1, 3 & 10)

**District 11**

 _There was only a slim chance of being reaped..._

 _Four Hundred Thousand people in one District. The chances being reaped were small..._

 _One thousand to one..._

Cane had his back against the wall of the District 11 Justice Building room they sent him to. Unlike a lot of the other Justice Buildings around Panem, this one was more run down and didn't have many of the fancy elements and pzazz of the other ones. Not even any windows. The set of grey bricks used to build the place reflected Canes mood.

He was feeling a combination of anger, confused and sadness. His life seemed to be in a state of turmoil

Soon, the door opened and his sister entered the room. Once she entered the room, Cane dropped down and had begun to tearfully sob. His sister quickly rushed over to him and hugged him.

His sister held him tightly before beginning to sob too. Besides their grandfather, they were all they had after their parents had passed away.

After that though, he sat in another chair and watched as the two siblings cried. Eventually, the sad mood slowly dwindled and they were left in a remaining silence.

Cane honestly couldn't believe what was happening. He was confused, but also angered about the results. He didn't expect to go into the games nor did he want to. Even with that, he thought Duncan would've volunteered. What kind of friend was Duncan to not have volunteered for him?!

However, he pushed that thought over to the sides as he looked back to his sister. Both his grandfather and his sister looked upset. both ready to continue crying. However they held on and just waiting for Cane to say something.

Well before Cane could even go there, the last guest entered the room. This was Duncan. He also gave a pretty distressed look as he made his way to the room.

"C-Cane?" He said as he rushed over to his friend.

It took a few moments for him to respond but eventually Cane glared up at his friend. "Why couldn't you have volunteered for me? Huh?" He questioneed his friend who only stepped back, shocked that his friend was so upset.

"V-Volunteer? Why would I have done that-," He began.

"I thought we were friends! You were supposed to jump in for me!" Cane yelled at his friend.

Duncan balled his fist and grit his teeth. "You! WHAT IN ME TOLD YOU I WAS JUST GOING TO WALTZ IN AND TAKE YOUR PLACE! I MAY BE YOUR FRIEND BUT I'M NOT CRAZY!" He yelled. However Duncan calmed down, quickly feeling embarrassed about that little outburst.

"C-Cane... I have family to take care of and protect. I can't just abandon them without thinking." He recoiled calmly.

This couldn't help the situation though. "Duncan, I have a family too! Why do you think I want to stay!" He yelled back.

"Cane! Stop being so damn selfish! UGH!" Duncan angrily left moments later.

His grandfather sat in the chair across from Cane and only shook his head. "Hey, Cane... You mind if I tell you some important things before you go." He began.

Cane didn't really respond. Cane breathed out, still fuming with anger. However his Grandfather just decided it'd be best to continue on.

"I need you to immediately get out of their and stay away from the cornucopia. If you do-,"

"Yeah yeah. Run away. What good will that do me? I'll just die anyways." He claimed, yelling louder than he meant.

His grandfather only sighed. "Yeah but you'll stand a better chance running away." He explained.

"You're just going to tell me things I already know. And I already know that anyways I try I'm probably going to die in the end anyways." He said.

He looked back at his grandfather who just shook his head.

"Trust me. I believe in you. Love you." He said as he got up to leave. Though before he exited the room though, he gave him a sad good luck and left. His sister also began to leave. Though she did so without saying anything. She just turned around once and then she was gone.

For a moment Cane just thought to himself, still a little angry. However once those thoughts faded from his head he felt emotions building up.

 _I... I just..._

* * *

 **District 1**

The sun rose around the diamond mining District. Reapings began quite early in District 1, but even at the brisk of dawn the excitement for the games remained quite high as people gathered into the District 1 reaping square. Of course, District 1, 2 and 4 reapings weren't exactly like the other Districts, annually having teens train in order to volunteer and participate in the games themselves. Because of this, District 1 annually had the best tributes in the games and thus lasted the longest. They also had the second most amount of tributes, right behind District 2.

One of the largest questions looming over the rich District were about the tributes this year. Not all knew who they'd be this year and many were anxious to see if they'd be having a new victor this year.

The upbeat feeling continued to the District square, where everyone was either discussing the volunteers or just upbeat about they day and what people were going to be doing.

Eventually the usual reaping things happened. The mayor walked up, read off the treaty of treason and introduced the District escort. Optare Peru was the District escort for the District as he had been for many years now. Though during that time he hadn't exactly seen District 1 with another victor. He was hoping this year would be that year.

"Greetings District 1. I hope you're excited for this years games because I believe this year will be the year." He announced with fierceness in his voice.

The crowd really didn't react much as they stood in silence but there was a small applause in the back. Optare took this opportunity to go out and reap the first name, starting with the females. He didn't even bother taking his time, rushing to pull out a name as in the long run the reaped name usually didn't amount to much in the career District.

"Amilia Sovarus." He announced the female name.

The name of the female announced was familiar. She was a 14 year and a pretty popular girl in school. At school and around District 1 she was known for being quite kind and naive but still a great person to hang around. In any case, you wouldn't expect this girl to last longer than the bloodbath.

She gracefully proceeded from the 14 year old girls portion of the square and found herself moving up the stage. She was silent and had a slight smile written all over her face. She hadn't even finished stepping foot on the stage when she turned her head towards the crowd, expecting Optare to begin the volunteering process.

"Oh." He smiled, realizing the girl already wanted him to do the go ahead. "Do we have any volunteers?" He asked.

In less than a second, a hand was raised in the far back. "I volunteer!" A girl shouted.

As expected, District 1 had somebody ready to replace the reaped tribute and volunteer to jump straight into the action of the Hunger Games. The girl that had volunteered stepped out of her section soon and revealed herself. The girl was very tall, standing out far more than many of the other girls in the section of 16 year olds. She had a bright blonde hair that shone brightly in the daytime sun.

She walked through the crowd, towards the steps of the stage. The girl who had originally been reaped made her way back down the steps. On the way she gave an elbow nudge of good look to the career.

Diamond grinned as she made her way to the steps.

"Oh. What a lovely young lady we have here. Now what's your name?" Optare asked the girl, handing her the microphone.

"Diamond Fletcher. 16." She announced to the nation.

Her age was a surprising fact. Most volunteers usually waited until they were either 17 or 18 to try for the games, knowing that they'd be in their prime around that time. Something seemed to interest the District 1 crowd when it came to this girl. She had already made it to the true games as a career at such a young age...

With the first volunteer set into place, Optare went forwards and pulled out a second name. A form of silence grew over the district as he went to read the next name. Who would volunteer next...

"Terry Yunko." He announced the second name.

This boy was a little bit older than the girl that had been called a second ago. The boy in question suddenly looked upwards hearing his name be called. He was a little terrified but felt a lot more excitement over their still was the volunteer male but he humored the thought anyways.

Quickly, he began moving his way out of the 16 year old section of the Square. It was at this moment everyone got a good look at the teen. He was quite tall and much paler than a lot of other residents in District 1. He was dressed in a more casual wear compared to the other teens in the square who were all dressed in very formal wear.

He made his way up to the stage, through the crowds and eventually he found himself up on the stage with Optare and the girl that had just volunteered.

"Now. Any volunteers?" Optare quickly asked.

A large silence loomed over the District, waiting for the hand to raise, and a volunteer to come out from behind and announce that he was taking the place of the teen on stage. Terry looked on, starting to get a little bored with how long it was taking. Somebody in the back coughed.

"Are there any volunteers?" Optare asked. The silence remained. "No?" He asked.

Optare took a deep breath and looked over to the teen that had his name reaped. Unlike what he had expected, he didn't despair or start crying or... Well anything that could likely happen in a situation like this. Matter of fact he actually half grinned at the escort. "Well District 1. The tributes for the 97th Annual Hunger Games. Diamond and Terry." He announced to the District.

There was an applause as Optare motioned the two tributes to shake hands.

Terry quickly extended his hand to Diamond. Diamond recoiled for a moment but shook hands with the boy after a moment...

 _There was something going on here..._

* * *

 **District 10**

So squeezed between District 9 and District 11 was District 10. A slightly impoverished land with a lot for herding and raising things like cattle. One of the most important Districts in the food District groups. It was also slowly turning into one of the most rebellious. The Districts resentment for the Capitol had all but grown in the years as had all of the others, however this one was more fiery.

Not too long ago, there was a rumor spreading around that a revolt was being planned somewhere in the District which led to the District 10 Sullivan ranch Massacre. It was made especially clear by how it was carried out and the targets (All innocents, including women and children) that this was just a warning shot for the District.

With the Hunger Games coming up soon, the tensions would most likely only continue to grow.

The District escort, a young lady named Lilac, exited the Justice Building. She gave a halfway disgusted look as she looked around. The omnipresent stench of the workers in District 10 made the whole place almost unbearable to her. Being relatively new to the escort job, a only starting this job recently with the 93rd games, she was still trying to process the whole thing.

The Districts were far different than the Capitol. Very in fact...

Nobody smiled. Nothing was really clean. A dark cloud of defeat seemed to hang over the people in all of the Districts she had seen. In fact, it seemed 10 was just getting ready to implode on itself.

She already knew the crowd over here resented her. She could actually feel herself mirroring that resentment back at them. Though where she stood, she could kind of understand that pain. The pain of having to lose so much every year and for very little.

However, she shook her head. She didn't want to dwell on it at the moment because it could interfere with her performance.

The mayor had just finished reading the treaty of treason and was getting ready to introduce her once more, however Lilcac just took to the mic and began talking.

"Whatever. Welcome District 10 the the 97th Annual Hunger Games reaping. May the odds be forever in your favor." She said to the crowd.

After some quick thinking, she reached over the the bowl that held the names of all the male tributes. She stuck her hand in the bowl before eventually pulling out the name of the would be male tribute.

"And the District 10 Male for the 97th Annual Hunger Games is... Victor Delaney." She announced to the crowd, looking up to see the reaction.

Soon, heads began to turn towards the front of the crowd all until it became obviously clear who this victor kid was. Almost all the way in the front of the 12 year old section was a boy with slicked back, dark reddish hair. Mortified, he looked around at the kids surrounding him. They all moved out of the way so he could make his way up to the stage, however he didn't even move. He just stood still. His body refusing to move.

A few moments later, a few peacekeepers came marching down the aisle in an attempt to get the boy moving and right when it seemed like there'd be a fight, he dashed towards the stage in fear.

Lilac took a deep breath. She ignored the kid on stage, now starting to sob as the crowd groaned with agony. Matter of fact, down on the floor beneath some kids were harassing and even pushing the peacekeepers. It seemed they were willing to initiate a fight. However, Lilac couldn't allow a riot at the current moment so she quickly moved over to grab the next name. Matter of fact she didn't even bother waiting. She quickly pulled out the first female name should grab out and read it out as quickly and as loud as necessary.

"Corrita Reeks." She quickly read off the name, almost in a desperate shout. This thankfully stopped the teens and peacekeepers from going at it.

 _Now about the girl..._

Slowly but shortly the location of this girl became obvious. She was near the back of the 15 year old section for the females. She seemed to be hyperventilating, to the point where you could hear her panicking from far off.

It was a pathetic but understandable sight to say the least. Before any move could be made though...

"I VOLUNTEER! I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!" A voice shouted from far off.

Now all at once all heads quickly turned to the back of the crowd, where the 18 year olds were standing. This girl had her hand raised, before standing out of the crowd. The girl had shoulder length jet black hair, a slim but muscular body to compliment that and overall had a very definite tone to herself. She looked quite anxious, but also fierce at the same time. People would probably question what this girl was doing, volunteering like this. More people would probably not question it because... Well she looked quite serious just from first impressions.

"O-Oh. A-A volunteer? 10 hasn't had these in a-a while I guess." Even Lilac was a bit baffled by this.

In all of her career she never expected this to happen. No less in run down place like 10. She looked over to the girl, who was now marching her way towards her. Lilac only gave a face of curiosity as she stood up on the stage with her and Victor.

"So... Your name is-," She began to ask, handing over her mic.

"Bailey Montgomery." She turned back towards the crowd and announced.

To few, that name could be quite familiar. The surname of a peacekeeper in all. No doubt, she was most likely an offspring.

"Hm. Well... District 10, your tributes for the 97th Annual Hunger Games." Lilac nodded to the crowd.

There was a small but short applause in the back, and then the reapings had concluded in District 10.

* * *

 **District 3**

A light rain began as teens made their way towards the District 3 reaping. District 3 was easily the least impressive out of the big 4. Slowly, the place had started to become less than stable and it seemed like soon District 3 would be having its own insurgency. However, all of that would be forgotten for the time being. The feared. The dreaded. The day nobody looked forward to and the days that'd follow... The annual Hunger Games reaping.

District 3 hadn't had a victor in many years. Last victory was Lex, who won the 79th Hunger Games through a series of good luck. To be fair, she was actually one of the few stable Hunger Games victors which was most likely because she hadn't seen much of her own games. She hid away for much of it.

That aside, District 3 as a whole really wasn't looking forward to the reapings and what would soon come after.

The day began with all of the teens eligible for reapings gathering into the District square. After that the reapings went on as usual. The mayor came up, welcomed the crowd, read off the Treaty of Treason and introduced the district escort.

This year District 3 had a new one. Ingua Caligula, who was completely new to the whole escorting thing and thus was pretty nervous upon jumping on stage and introducing herself.

"H-Hello I'm... Uh, Ingua Caligula. I-I can't wait to see what this Dis-, District 3 can offer." She also spoke very quickly, making it almost impossible to hear what she had said.

Shaking a bit, she went over to the reaping bowl for the females and began to pull out a name.

"Ladies first, I guess." She steadily began.

In an instant, she pulled out the name for who was to become the female tribute for the games.

"And our f-female tribute for the 97th Annual Hunger Games is, uh, Henrietta Sweep!" She announced, stumbling over herself a bit as she said that.

In the back of the 17 year old section, there was a gasp. Henrietta had not seen this coming. However, she knew she should've. Ever since her parents had divorced and she and her mother had moved to the outskirts of the District, Henrietta was always taking tessarae for the sake of her family.

She gave a disappointed growl, looking up at all the faces now facing her before moving her way through them, even shoving a few of them. However, she wasn't angry. In fact her reaction was more of a numbness. As if she had accepted her fate without any if no problem.

Their was an eeriness to how cold she was as she made her way through the formal crowd. She looked up when she made her way up to the steps and climbed up and stood near Ingua. Ingua didn't even say a word or look at the girl she had just reaped. She just went ahead and quickly pulled out the name for the male tribute.

"And o-our male tribute for th-this years games is... Uh, Deacon Bloomrich. She announced.

There was a small growl in the middle of the 18 year old male section, which was where all the heads began turning towards a particular boy. He took a deep breath and gave out a sigh. He balled his fist, but didn't show any real signs of anger. After that, he put his hands in his pockets and began moving towards the stage in a quiet manner.

However, it was clear from the look on his face that he wasn't exactly excited. He was upset. Angered even. 18 years old, he even had plans in life. Yet today he had been reaped for the games. They were going to take all of that away from him forcibly. Whether he wanted it or not.

He stood up on the stage with the district escort and his District partner. He looked at both of them with uninterested. However, he looked back at the crowd once Ingua announced them to the crowd.

Only a select few applauded and at once they were both escorted into the Justice Building.

* * *

 **Capitol**

Alone in his office, President Ramia readjusted his glasses as he reviewed the reapings from across the Districts. He usually didn't pay attention to the reapings but with the previous games... He wasn't going to let anything suspicious get right past him.

He was paying close attention to the way each soon to be tribute acted and moved. Keeping track of any hints of rebellion or something close to that.

Soon his secretary entered the room, confusion on her face.

"You've been in here for the past hour rewatching these reapings? Seriously, what are you trying to accomplish?" She asked.

"frugalis, you should understand above all people that I work with that the Districts aren't going to stay under our thumbs for much longer. Considering last year, there's a chance that they'll strike in the games again considering the large audience." Ramia scratched his hair.

Frugalis only rolled her eyes and sat next to him. "That doesn't excuse you, President." She reminded him.

He gave her an annoyed glare but he chuckled at her before turning his attention back to the television screens. "This is the best we can do until the Districts also hand over the footage of their goodbyes."

They sat their and watched each reapings and studied each person extensively.

"The girl from 2. Yeah, I think she could be up to something. I'm sure she just killed somebody on screen." Frugalis watched in horror as the girl threw a knife across the screen, a bone chilling scream echoing in the background.

"Possibly. However, no rebel would want to give too much attention to themselves would they? They should know after the last game that we're onto them." Ramia sat back.

He looked over to District 1. The boy their seemed clearly nonchalant about having no volunteer. District 1 always had a volunteer so it confused Ramia as to why this year was not only different, but the boy didn't even seem to care.

"He could be just cocky." Frugalis suggested. Ramia understood that was probably truth but he was cautious about every single one of the tributes.

District 4, 8 and 11 all had volunteers, two of which didn't seem to have much combat experience. The girl from 4 was kind of mysterious and Ramia didn't plan on straying away from the possibilities... but the fourteen year old from 8 and the thirteen year old from 11 had him a little curious.

He wondered... The possibilities...

 **"Riyal Sunbal!"**

"Sunbal..." Frugalis said to herself..

"What about it?"

Ramia looked over at her, questioning her when suddenly she jumped up.

"Don't we have some avoxs station here with that last name?." She asked. When the President could not answer her directly she quickly stood up and left the room.

In only a few seconds she came back with a specific list of avox's in the Capitol and pointed to a few.

"Hm. I can see where you're suspicious but keep in mind, it could also be a pretty common surname." He said. He gazed over at the television screen and watched the girl quietly make her way to the stage.

Frugalis only looked over at the door with a longing face...

They were about to begin rewatching 5s reaping when suddenly the Presidents wife entered the room, an annoyed look on her face.

"And what do we have here?" She asked.

"Oh, Persiusa. It isn't what it looks like!" Ramia waved his hands, trying to explain what happens.

"Oh really? I haven't even seen your face for nearly a week now! Come on!" She yelled at him.

"I'm just really busy with work and the upcoming games okay." He tried explaining.

Persiusa turned around and walked out the door in anger while the President chased after he to apologize. This left Frugalis with all of the remaining tapes.

Not too long after a man entered the room. He wore an almost blood red coat that seemed to be larger than he was. His ears were quite pointed and his nose seemed to look broken. He stood out compared to the Capitol citizens because how disorganized he looked. He was almost like a District citizen and less of someone from Capitol decent.

"Is the President here. We have most of the goodbye tapes. Though we're still gathering the ones from 1, 3 and 10." He said, showing her the tapes.

She gave a nod of approval. "Good. The President wanted to look at these. Especially this one." She said, staring at the District 5 tape.

"Alright. I'll talk to you later." He said, kissing her on the head before exiting the room.

Frugalis shrugged before looking down at the tape labeled with a giant green 9. She chewed on her tounge for a moment before looking around. Having a look, she noticed that there were no cameras in the room and quickly picked up the tape.

In an instant she quickly threw the small tape at a fireplace which turned on instantly afterwards. She began taking a few deep breaths.

"Hopefully that helps." She said as she watched the tape slowly burn away in the fireplace.

"I know Oam is too much of an idiot to think about it..." She said to herself...

 _The 97th Hunger Games would soon begin..._

* * *

 **Yay. Reapings are complete. Though the goodbyes will be concluded next chapter (And maybe I'll combine the first train rides along with it).**

 **A big shoutout to My Ship Is Drena, grimbutnotalways The Fire Blossom, MessyModgePodge and (A guest without a name) for all the tributes that appeared this chapter (Respectively their characters are Diamond Fletcher, Terry Yunko, Bailey Montgomery, Deacon Bloomrich and Henrietta Sweep)**

 **Overall a very good lineup of tributes that I honestly can't wait to have interact in the next few chapters. Sorry for taking as long as I did here (and hopefully the final goodbye chapter won't take as long).**


	11. Train Rides Part 1

**District 1**

As soon as the train began moving away from District 1, Diamond left for the caboose of the train. She felt like she needed all the energy she was gonna need for the chariot rides the mess that would come from that.

She entered the room and looked around herself. There was a huge television set displaying on the wall along with a few other smaller ones on the floor. They had all been unplugged and were rotting away on the floor.

The very back of the room had a wide window and a large couch underneath. You could just sit on it and watch the train zoom through the wastelands all day and night if you wanted.

She sat down on the couch and rested her head on a pillow, feeling tired.

However, before she could do anything a figure entered the room. She opened her eyes quickly and noticed her District partner entering the room. He looked around the room before looking over at her. There were a few things bothering Diamond now. Of course she had been trying to rest and this kid was stopping that from happening but that was nothing compared to the creepy look he had given her.

She wasn't scared. Of course she wasn't. In fact she was sure she kill her District partner at the moment if she felt like it. However, his presence was disturbing her. Something was off about him...

Diamond had mostly expected him to panic when no one volunteered for him or something like that, however he played it off well. She wondered if he trained for the games himself. Maybe not with the academy but possibly by his parents or something like that.

Terry, for the most part, didn't bother looking over at the girl. He was a little curious about her, but he was sure he knew enough about her already. He already knew that her mother had been a previous victor and the girl was most likely looking towards becoming a victor as well. Otherwise all he knew was that she had been training at the District 1 academy closest to where he lived. She didn't go to the same school as him (She was probably home schooled or something) so he didn't know much of her personality.

However he just assumed she was just like the other academy kids. Hotblooded, cunning and cocky.

At this point, Diamond was starting to get annoyed by her District partners presence and quickly got up.

"Goodness, do you need something?" She angrily questioned.

Terry looked over at her and shook his head quietly.

Diamonds eye twitched. "Then why are you in here?" She asked, starting to get annoyed. However, she quickly calmed herself down.

"I'm just bored. Like always." He said, peeking through one of the closed blinds.

"Yeah... Bored..." Diamond said, resting her head again.

Terry smirked in the darkness.

"Ah well." He said, leaving the room. He was hoping to get the chance to interact with her. Though it was all good though. There was going to be many more opportunities at hand for him. _At this point she'd already given him a good hint after all..._

* * *

 **District 2**

Cypress looked across the room. Sitting across from him was his District partner, the girl named Magma. She probably wasn't going to be too much of a hassle, though he was still a little curious about her.

She seemed to be sleeping. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing quietly. However, she had a smirk written across her face as she laid back against the wall. He heard a small chuckle emit from her. She quickly stopped though and her smirk turned back into a frown as she opened her eyes and stared over at her District partner.

Cypress rolled his eyes at her, before turning his head towards the TV. It was off at the moment but he didn't really care. He didn't feel like interacting with the girl. He was busy thinking about what he was gonna do in the game.

The girl definitely wasn't bloodbath material but she definitely wasn't worth his time.

It wasn't too long after this that Lilo entered the room. She stopped at the door before turning on the lights as well as the television. She then looked down upon the two careers.

"Are you two not going to do anything? Not even the lights are on." She told the two.

They didn't bother answering her. Neither of them cared. Lilo just grunted.

"Come on. At least try coming up with your strategy for the games or something!" She told the two.

At first, they still didn't bother speaking with her. However, Cypress grinned and began to spoke.

"Why should I? We already know the outcome of the games. I'm winning these, plain and simple." He raised his fist.

Magma just rolled her eyes. "You say that likes its true. You're pathetic. Hell, we could end up with some brats troubling us from District 5 like what happened last year." She suggested as she folded her arms and closes her eyes.

"You keep saying that. I've been training since I could speak words out of my mouth." He reminded her.

Magma opened her eyes up at the boy.

"Same." She admitted. Cypress glared at the girl. He doubted the truth in that statement, however he didn't bother questioning her.

Once again, the two stood across from each other in complete silence.

After that though, Lilo walked back into the room.

"Do you two know what time reaping starts?" She asked. The two didn't even bother answering the question and just continued thinking to themselves.

Lilo sighed. "Fine, I'll let you miss the whole thing. You won't even get the chance to figure out who you'll be aligning or fighting against." She shouted as she left the room, frustrated.

They still didn't bother responding. Magma and Cypress were both willing to leave the whole conversation at that forever, however the door opened again. The two teens glared at the entry.

"What did I do to you two?" The man said as he entered the room. His hair was jet black and pretty much all over the place. His eyes were almost pale looking and he had an annoyed glare that seemed to be etched onto his face. This was Miren. The victor of the 86th Hunger Games.

"So you're the batch trained this year huh? No different than last year. Or the year before. Or the year before that." He scoffed at the two.

Magma just ignored their mentor while Cypress looked over at him and glared.

"Really now..." He said, in a challenging tone.

Miren chuckled. "Yep. Believing themselves to be the toughest of all tributes and expecting no trouble one soever. It's almost like some sort of time loop." He sigh

"So? You'll realize how dumb your logic is when I win the games. That or when I kill you myself." Cypress threatened, now starting to get annoyed.

Miren cracked a smile. "You? Winning the games? Killing me? Look kid, I don't take bets but if I did my money would be on your partner so far. At least she hasn't shown her weakness to her mentor." Miren licked his lips.

Cypress rolled his eyes. "Weakness? You think you're funny huh. She thinks she's above the rest when that clearly isn't true. That one isn't even hard to spot. Tch, and you call yourself our mentor?" Cypress folded his arms and gazed out the window as the train sped through through the mountains.

"Well I'll give you that. You're a comedian." Miren rubbed his chin, giving an amused nod.

Cypress bared his teeth, finally getting fed up with his mentors jeering.

As Cypress began ignoring him, Miren turned his attention to the girl. She had payed him little to no mind at all. He decided to see what he could get out of her.

"So. What're you ignoring me for?" Miren asked, sitting across from her.

"Get lost." She responded coldly.

Miren shrugged. _Another tough one. Oh boy..._

At the moment, Miren was more curious in the girl than he was the boy. He wasn't going to pretend like he hadn't seen the reapings. Before he had even reached the train he overheard people talking about it. Talking about Magma. Talking about the fact that a murder had just taken place on live national television. Talking about the fact that she had gotten away with it.

Miren was curious. _Was this a sort of message? Had she done this before?_ Miren had a few questions himself. He cleared his throat and prepared to ask the girl a question.

"I have an actual question for you this time, and you better answer it." Miren ordered her.

As expected, the girl didn't seem to care. Miren smirked.

"So. About the reapings... Who was that you killed and why?" Miren asked.

Cypress opened his eyes a little. Even he wanted to know. Especially since he was right there when the murder happened. He found himself very curious on the subject and wanted to hear what had actually happened.

Magma actually turned over to Miren.

"She was in my way." She responded vaguely. Miren sat up.

"So you wanna play that game huh. I wonder, you did that as if there wasn't going to be a single consequence. Hm... Have you killed before?" Miren said, giving a curious gaze.

Magma shrugged. "Oh, maybe."

Now Miren was curious. Though he wasn't exactly sure if he could just go up and ask her _how_ many people she's killed in the past. Miren smirked. "Well, they'll be serving lunch soon and something tells me you two will both be pretty talkative by then." Miren said as he stood up to leave.

The two didn't bother responding. Though he could see Cypress was gazing over at the girl, angrily.

 _Interesting pair._

* * *

 **District 3**

Henrietta and Deacon found themselves interacting very little. They hadn't spoken a word for the first hour on the train and now seemed to be exchanging glances from opposite ends. Deacon was still annoyed. This annoyance would slowly turn to anger though and there were many reasons for this. He knew it himself. Unlike a lot of the other tributes that would be in the game he had a life ahead of him. He had a future. However the games had to come in a completely topple over all of that. Deacon looked over to his District partner. She was staring out the window, still as dull as she had been during the reapings. Almost motionless.

Deacon knew he would probably need allies. Anything would be better than going in alone. Even just one ally would maybe get him further into the games.

He put on a confident smirk, trying to give off a completely confident aura for his District partner. If he was insecure, she would probably be unwilling into jumping in with somebody she could trust so he needed to come off as competent.

"You know I was thinking." He said, getting her attention. Henrietta turned around, though her face showed she was completely uninterested in chatting with him at the moment.

"Should we create an alliance between the two of us. I mean, that's if you don't feel like you stand a chance." He offered.

Henrietta gazed over for a moment before looking back out the window. After nearly a minute of no response, she gave a cold "No thanks."

This surprised Deacon. He had expected her to join since she seemed so down on her luck.

"R-Really?" Deacon asked, making sure he heard her right.

She turned back around and nodded to him.

This left him baffled momentarily.

Meanwhile Henrietta just didn't really know what to think. Being reaped had her at a slight loss of words. She was probably going to die. She tensed up at the thought.

She was't prepared for any of this.

Her parents had cried for her in the goodbye rooms.

 _Do your best! Do your best!_ They repeatedly cried this to her. She had been thinking about it.

 _What else was she going to do?_

* * *

 **District 4**

Considering how Harken had spent the past two hours on the train ride just imagining the possible situations that would come in the games and how the possible competition, he was honestly surprised he hadn't noticed his District partner who had been in the same room as him for at least 30 minutes now.

She was staring out the big window in the back of the train and hadn't even bothered to start a conversation. Harken wondered if she had wanted him to do so. However, he decided to go back to doing anything else. It wasn't that he wasn't a talkative person. Heck, at the academy he always garnered some attention so he wasn't going to slip out any secrets.

Zandra for her part was honestly just bored. While most tributes dread arriving in the Capitol, Zandra was feeling impatient. She wanted to get the Capitol at this point since she had already had an idea going. Zandra wondered about her games strategy. No matter what, Zandra was going to see the games to the end. Though she could probably do the games herself a possibly make it to the end, she was sure having an alliance would be better for at least the first half. She was even juggling the idea of helping out smaller tributes. The careers on the other hand…

Being from District 4 Zandra would be expected to join. Hell, she was definitely qualified. However Zandra rejected the idea in her head. The games are one awful thing. The careers are another.

Her District partner was definitely joining them on the other hand. Typical career build. Pissy attitude. She wasn't sure of how confident he was but it was best to assume he was another cocky one that would end up hunting down the other and more vulnerable tributes.

She wondered if he was worth talking to. Time wasn't going to waste itself anyways and there were GOD knows how many hours until the reaping replays begun.

She looked over at the boy and begun to speak.

"So. What's your deal?" She questioning him.

Harken eyes quickly moved over to his District partner. It seemed as like she was only now interested in talking with him.

"Oh, nothing. I'm thinking about what I'm going to do in the games." He said casually.

Zandra gave a more skeptical look. "I mean, you ARE a career. Everything's already established for you. The cornucopia is going to be yours. Once you get with the others you'll already have the supplies and weapons to take out the rest." She claimed.

Harken rolled his eyes. It was gonna be one of these…

"Look. If you expect me to be like the rest of the careers that expect everything to go there way, think the hell again. Don't bother patronizing me." He said in an annoyed tone.

"Patronizing? I'm just being honest. Smart career or strong career, you're just playing into the hands of the Capitol." She argued.

Harken lightly glared. She wasn't exactly wrong. Careers are the ones that _want_ to be in the games and _want_ to kill after all. He actually sat back for a moment thinking about it. He wanted to join the games in order to bring up a rebellion and overthrow the current Capitol leaders so in a way he wanted to be there. He was going to have to kill, after all he needed to win.

"You're just another pawn." She sat back.

At this point, Harken was actually starting to get irritated.

"Says you. You haven't seen the type of shit I've put up with." He said, almost yelling.

Zandra's eyes arched. "Says you! Ever had a peacekeeper attempt to rape your own mother?" She angrily shouted.

This left Harken with little words. He was actually ready to fire back but what she said had him thinking for a moment.

"Wait? Have you?" He responded.

Zandra grit her teeth, balling her fists at the same time too. It almost seemed like she was going to get into a fight with him next.

"Yeah. I came home to this bastard raping my mother. Next thing you know, his face is smashed in and he's dead. There's blood dripping through my knuckles and I'm still enraged." She said, clenching her fists.

Harken just stared at her, baffled by this. She sat back, still fuming with anger.

He wasn't really sure how to react to that. Of course, considering he had lived much of his life preparing to take down the Capitol after the unjust and awful things the Snow family had done to his parents he could relate to her anger. What was truly causing his mind to stop was what she had said last...

 _"Next thing you know, his face is smashed in and he's dead. There's blood dripping through my knuckles..."_

 _Sh-She killed him? I'm sitting right across from somebody with killing experience._ Harken say back as he looked over at his partner again.

 _She may be troublesome..._

* * *

 **District 5**

Atom quietly sat alone in a dark room as the train continued to speed through the empty plains of Panem. She was told that in an hour, it'd be time for dinner. Atom had no appetite. She hadn't felt hungry at all in fact.

Suddenly, the lights flicked on and she saw a small figure standing at the door. Atom was caught off guard by the sudden intrusion and put her knees closer to her chest.

Zircon was surprised for the most part. He didn't expect to see anyone in this room. Though when he thought about it, he wasn't as surprised to see his District partner hiding considering she hadn't spoken to him once since they had both been reaped, not to mention he hadn't seen her since they boarded the train.

He wasn't exactly sure what was wrong with his District partner.

However he was dying of boredom and needed something to do. Zircon decided to try and get her to talk which didn't seem like much of a challenge. A lot of people liked Zircon. Though to be fair there still was a large percentage of others in District 5 that taunt him and talk behind his back. Most of that relating to his father...

Zircon wondered if this girl did the same. He felt the girl was familiar but to be honest Zircon believed he had never seen her before. Maybe she was one of those quiet kids at school who stuck to themselves. At the moment she showed signs of that. Well if that was the case Zircon was unsure if he could actually get her talking.

The girl was not even sitting on a couch. Instead she had her knees closer to her chest as she sat _next_ to the couch...

So Zircon decided to sit next to her, wondering how to start this conversation. It would be a little tough but maybe he could get her talking. Hey, maybe they could form a sort of alliance while they were at it.

"W-What's wrong?" Zircon asked first. Of course, at the moment Atom was not in the mood for interactions. She was still mourning everything she was going to lose heading into the games.

Suddenly, Zircon dropped down next to her. Atom reacted by inching her knees closer to her and holding them tightly. Zircon could tell, she was in no mood to talk. However, he was still going to try and get her to speak, no matter what it took. Personally he didn't really understand why he wanted her to speak nor did he know what he was really going to get out of this but he was going to keep on trying.

Atom continued to stay quiet. The boy kept asking question after question. Asking if she was okay. If her family was okay. In truth, Atom had no answer for any of his questions. Eventually though, he stopped asking questions. He sighed.

"I guess if you don't feel like speaking... I guess I'll talk, I guess." He said.

Atom wasn't listening in on what he was talking about, but it seemed like he started talking about his family. How many people in 5 loathed him. Atom sometimes felt like people loathed her personally. However, she ad always shaken that feeling off. She didn't want that thought interrupting her. It'd only prevent her from doing what she wanted, how she wanted.

Atom looked over at her District partner again. He was still going on. Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks. The boy was no longer talking. The room had gone eerily quiet. The only light in the room were the light leaking through the closed binds that obscured the view of the outside and the reflection of light off of the boys curly brown hair.

Zircon took a deep breath.

"Yeah... I guess I'll get going now. If you want to talk to me, you can come to me later." He said. His eyes were lowered. It was as if something had come to mind, and now it was holding him down.

The boy left the room. Leaving Atom all alone. Like she had been before. Her thoughts continued to stay scattered. However she just sat back and looked at the ground...

* * *

 **District 6**

Ayana and Tobias sat on opposite sides of the dinner table. They didn't even bother looking at each other. Not for any divide in class or personality, more or less just because neither of them were really talkative people nor were they in the mood to get to know either one. For all each of them knew one of them would just stab them right in the back as soon as they got into the games.

Their mentor sat at the edge of the table looking back and forth between the two giving a gaze that resembled a glare. Tobias kept looking back and forth between her and the table. Mostly because he wouldn't dare stare at her for more than a second. Matter of fact, why was she staring him down so hard? What he had done to her? Was she scoping both of them out and just assuming that this was gonna be another one of _those_ years?

 _I mean, ouch..._ Tobias thought to himself. Personally he understood he didn't seem like much but for all he knew he could still get out of the games alive. However with that thought, he sunk further down into his chair. He didn't have much true confidence...

Ayana was trying her hardest not to get caught between either of their gazes and consistently stared down at her food. Well... what was left of it anyways. She had basically gobbled all of the rice, beans, lamb meat and everything else thrown her way in a matter of minutes. Of course, 6 wasn't exactly a starving district but getting food this good was kind of a rarity. Ayana was actually pretty grateful. Otherwise though, being kind of trapped between her mentor and her District partner was starting to make her more and more nervous.

They remained locked in this ring of tension for a very uncomfortable period of time. It was only when the district escort Spera, burst into the room like a very happy school girl.

"You three are already eating without me? Come on?" She yawned, rubbing her stomach as she entered the dinning area.

Their District mentor growled. "Heh? And where were you?" She asked. Spera walked around the table looking over at the two tributes before looking back at their mentor.

"Resting my eyes. I kind of overdid it. I could've sworn it was already tomorrow as I woke up." She admitted. Spera looked around again. "So? What'd I miss?" She asked.

Their mentor chuckled. "Would you believe me if I said absolutely nothing? These kids are quieter than cricket. Good god." She lays back against her chair.

Tobias got up a bit. "Well it isn't like you're the conversation starter either, Autumn." Tobias said over to their mentor, his eyebrow visibly twitching.

"Well I mean personally it speaks for itself. No offense though." Autumn admitted.

"What? Do you have a problem with us?" he asked. Autumn only shrugged.

"No. Absolutely not. You two both seem so pale right now?" She sat back, looking over at Ayana who blushed and looked up at her District partner.

Tobias looked away from Autumn. "Maybe it's because we're going into the Hunger Games." He rolled his eyes.

Tobias felt like he was flaming. He usually never got this upset with anyone. Not to say he _was_ upset. Really he was just being what Amanda called being defensive. She told him anytime somebody tries riling him up, all he needs to do is stop and take a deep breath. And so, Tobias took a deep breath and slumped down in his chair a little before looking over at Autumn and Spera.

"I don't see what you're trying to prove to us by talking down to us." He argued though.

Autumn shook her head. "I'm not talking down to you two. If it came off like that, I apologize. But still, if you two want to find any chance of coming out alive I say you drop the social awkwardness." She ordered.

Ayana had been drinking water when their mentor said that and nearly spit out her drink. Both the tributes thought that sounded stupid. _You can't just magically stop being quiet._

Autumn chuckled a bit. "I know what you two are thinking. All I'm saying is sponsors, allies and things like that. Yeah, that'll take effort. Trust me, it'll be wo-," Suddenly she stopped and looked over at the TV.

Who else was on the TV but Ceaser Flickerman Junior. He smiled politely before beginning.

 **"Hello people of Panem. Today was the day of the 97th Annual Hunger Games reaping. As of today, 2328 teens have been reaped for the Hunger Games."**

Autumn cringed. "And he says that like it's a good thing." She angrily growls as she sips some water from a glass.

"I believe this year, we have a colorful cast of characters. In a few, we'll take a look and give you another look at our tributes." He announces before stepping back. The screen fades back into the Panem seal leaving the train car in silence.

"Hm. Pay close attention." Autumn tells them without context. Tobias puts his head on his hand and leaves it their as the Capitol anthem plays.

Ayana looked at the screen.

Who knew. Maybe she could spot anyone that would possibly like to align with her by the time she got to training... Hm...

* * *

 ** _Great. Another month where I'm slow. My mood has been all over the place with school having finally gotten to a point where I had to focus on it completely not to mention I've been having trouble writers block all year._**

 ** _Sorry for again taking so long._**

* * *

 _ **District 1 - Terry Yunko (18) & **__**Diamond Fletcher (16)**_

 _ **District 2 - Cypress Smith (18) & **__**Magma Stryker (17)**_

 _ **District 3 - Deacon "Deeks" Bloomrich** **(** **18)** ** & Henrietta Sweep (17)**_

 _ **District 4 - Harry "Harken Mercier" Stone (18) & **__**Zandra Lithis (17)**_

 _ **District 5 - Zircon Stardusk (15) & **__**Atom Heller (17)**_

 _ **District 6 - Tobias Elliot (18) & Ayana Mercate (15)**_

 _ **District 7 - Oliver "Ollie" Reed & Ava Bark (16)**_

 _ **District 8 - Lukas Kearney (17) & Elaine "Sunny" Sticher (14)**_

 _ **District 9 - Corrin Miller (14) & Riyal Sunbul (16)**_

 _ **District 10 - Victor Delaney (12) & Bailey Montgomery (18)**_

 _ **District 11 - Cane Nettle (17) & Iris Ricolte (13)**_

 **District 12 - Kolton "Lee" White (18) & ****Marja Vanhanen (17)**


	12. Train Rides Part 2

**District 7**

Ava and Ollie both sat up as the reaping replays had finally begun. Both of them were interested to see what tributes they'd be going against in the games. Who knew, maybe they'd learn some interesting things just by seeing other reaped.

Starting off was District 1. The female tributes name is reaped and soon afterwards, a small 14 year old girl began confidently walking up to the stage as if she had zero cares about what was to come. So confident in fact that by the time she had reached the bottom of the stairs, she didn't bother walking up. She just stood their momentarily. Eventually, their was a loud yell from the back and a taller and more built looking girl ran up to the stage.

"And there it is." Ollie sighed as the first career of the games made their appearance.

Ava crossed her arms and sighed as well. The girl seemed like the perfect career. Tall, well built, pretty. She glanced over at the camera, not grinning or smiling. It was almost like a piercing glare towards the audience... Or really Ollie and Ava.

Next would come the male tribute. Soon enough, the next tribute would come up. Ollie and Ava both quietly watched as a young man made his way to the stage. Eventually he made his way to the stage. However, no volunteer would follow.

"Whoa. That's a first. Well, at least from what I've seen." Ava sat up glancing at the screen. The boy kind of grinned a bit. Ollie could feel his skin chilling a bit.

"He seems pretty fine with being reaped into the games. That's honestly unnerving." Ava shook a little. Ollie didn't admit it but he felt the exact same way. Something about that boy was pretty off. He didn't seem like a career but he seemed pretty interested in jumping into the games.

"It's probably because 1 is one of those districts that treat being in the games as some sort of honor. I don't think he's anything to worry about." Their mentor, Johanna Mason said, looking up at the television set momentarily. Ollie and Ava both turned around. That was the first thing their mentor had said to them all day...

She had just had her head down on the table all day. Almost as if was dead in fact, but apparently she was doing fine and... Well, neither of the tributes really knew what she had been up to.

The screen cut to District 2. In District 2, the stage was pretty hard to see as a heavy rain fell on the district. Ava inched forwards towards the screen.

"You've gotta be kidding me." She sighed. Ollie did the same, getting a bit closer. "Look a little closer." He told her.

From what Ava could see, apparently the boys name had already been picked and this boy was confidently strolling his way towards the District 2 Justice Building. Through the rain, she could see his grin.

Ollie assumed he this career was around 18 years old as well, however he wasn't even sure if could actually believe that. The District 2 male looked more like a man than a young adult. Almost aggressively, Ollie put his elbow onto the table and laid his head on his hand. He was starting to lose some confidence in himself. The chances of him getting home were already starting to go down the drain. Well, there were some things could probably do over this tribute for an example... But would it really matter?

Ollie really wasn't paying any mind when a girl volunteered next. Ava stared closely at the screen, licking her lips. The girl that began walking up to the stage had a beautiful flaming red hair that was clear even through the dark clouds and rain in District 2. Unlike the two other careers and the boy from 1 before her, she didn't give an scary grin and didn't even seem very excited. It was almost as if she was wearing a mask. A mask that made her seem more dangerous. Ava considered it a mask because she had to have been playing a facade.

Eventually she made it up to the stage where she turned around towards the crowd. The cameras began to focus a little closer on something. Something that this girl was apparently holding. Ollie's eyes widened far more.

"I-Is that a knife?" He asked, getting up. Johanna began to look up after hearing this. All at once, the girl launched the weapon from her hand. Ava and Ollie's eyes widen even greater. "No way..." Ollie said as the girl threw the knife up into the air...

 _ **"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"**_

* * *

 **District 8**

Despite District 3's reaping already having begun, nobody in the room had noticed. The whole cart had gone eerily silent. Cecelias eyes were wide. Lukas was watching the reapings, but his thoughts were not on the District 3 tributes. They were on the 2 girl, and the girl in the crowd she had just brutally murdered. Lukas looked over at his District partner, the 14 year old who'd volunteered for the games for some unknown reason. Sunny had been visibly disturbed. She seemed almost completely frozen in time. She was just staring at the TV.

Lukas himself wasn't too sure whether she was actually starting to feel scared or...

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

This seemed to knock her out of her daze and she looked up over at her older District partner. "Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded to him.

The way the girl responded made it seem like that was only temporary shock. Lukas glanced at the girl momentarily. Her eyes were fixated on the television now and Lukas looked over at it to.

District 3s reapings were coming to a close. The two tributes from 3 were nothing noteworthy.

District 4 was a little more interesting on the other side. The first to pop up was a girl who seemed to be in her late teens volunteering for another girl. At first, it seemed she would be another career but once onstage she more or less stated she was volunteering for her friend and that was it.

Lukas sat back. He didn't know whether that girl was seriously brave, or seriously stupid. _Maybe both? She could be tough for all we know..._

He looked down at his District partner who was quietly drinking water. He glanced back at the television screen. Next up came District 5. Everyone in the cart sat up. There had been ongoing speculation that District 5 would be the center of a possible new rebellion and last year many were proved right. A rebellion plan than ended in complete failure, but still.

Practically everyone was interested in District 5. Would their tributes be any good? What secrets would they be hiding?

* * *

 **District 9**

There was anything noteworthy from the two District 6 tributes. They both cried as they made their way towards the stage. Riyal laid her head back onto her chair. She wasn't worried about the reapings. She was still thinking of her little sister and what the Capitol could do to her while she was out in the games. Hopefully Riyal could come home quickly and protect her from any harm. For all she knew, they could turn the little girl into an avox.

Riyal could feel her heart pounding harder now. Her District partner, Corrin, took notice of that.

"Hey, are you okay?" He shyly asked her.

Riyal looked over at the boy. She didn't feel like answering his question. She just shook her head and looked back up at the screen.

District 7 came up. The District 7 boy tried rushing off. Another boy gets knocked out by a peacekeeper. Chances are, he was running over to him but ah well.

The girl in comparison walked up more calmly.

"I guess 7 isn't a threat this year." Corrin folded his arms.

Riyal rolled her eyes. _Are they ever a threat Corrin? Tch._

Riyal was definitely in a sour mood. However her thoughts on her partner more or less dissipated when District 8 appeared on the screen. In 8, the boy gave a more neutral look about being reaped. On one hand he _seemed_ terrified but on the other hand he... didn't...

The girl was different. She was crying and screaming. Peacekeepers came in so they could drag her onto the stage. The District 8 crowd just watched as 3 peacekeepers began to escort the-,

When suddenly they stopped as a 14 year old girl jumped out. Oam leaned forwards as did Corrin.

"Did she just volunteer?" Oam asked.

Soon, the peacekeepers let go of the other girl and the 14 year old girl made it onto the stage, ending the District 8 reapings there.

"And I thought we were the crazy ones." Oam folded her arms.

Riyal's eye twitched. This 14 year old girl volunteered? For what? She looked no more prepared than Royal did? What was she thinking. Riyal sat back, taking her mind off the screen as the District 9 reapings would soon begin...

* * *

 **District 10**

Victor was annually switching between staring at Bailey and the television screen. Nothing was really happening with the reapings at the moment as District 9 would be coming up next. Bailey had made him curious. No, not because he thought she was attractive or anything but because she seemed so intriguing. All of this rotated around the big question. Why did she volunteer?

Their was the major possibility that she was just a strong girl and one who was cocky enough to try and aim for the chance to win the Hunger Games but that couldn't be it though... Or... Well... it could.

Victor sat back down.

Bailey was deep in her own thoughts. She had an obvious end-goal plan for the games in mind. Though with the tributes she'd be facing in the games themselves she was interested in seeing how she'd come out on top, if she'd do so at all. She had been training for this moment basically all her life. Her father, a peacekeeper, making her train for the games from a young age. Bailey wouldn't say her victory was exactly guaranteed but from the looks of it she'd most likely stand a chance against the careers.

She silently chuckled to herself. She bet the careers would want her on their side. However she wasn't looking for allies. For various reasons but really she just didn't think it was needed at the moment.

She looked back at the reapings. Soon would come District 9. First called up was a young girl who seemed to be around the 16 year old age. Afterwards, a young boy joined her.

Next came Bailey and Victor. Of course, Bailey was dragged to the stage where he had cried.

Victor cringed. He wished he hadn't cried like he had. Going into the games he's going to seem like just another weak tribute that can be stepped on. He looked away from the television set. Soon enough came Bailey volunteering to the surprise of the crowd and the commentators. Bailey thought she looked good enough on screen to gain the attention from the other tributes.

She wasn't interested in seeing some of the other tributes now since they'd be delving into the two lower Districts.

Next up would be District 11. A small girl is reaped. However, everyone stops when someone utters two words.

"I volunteer as tribute!" another girl shouts.

Bailey looks back at the screen. Generally surprised that somebody else would volunteer in one of the lower districts. For a moment, she was under the impression this was another girl who had been secretly training and was now prepared to enter the games. However, it turned out that this was just a 12 year old who felt like jumping in the fray for... Purposes.

"Huh... What do you think she's up to?" Victor asked. Bailey wasn't sure whether he was asking her that or just desperate to get a conversation going but she replied nonetheless.

"She's probably just stupid." Bailey said rudely.

There was nothing very special about the boy. He seemed angry but nothing else about him made him stand out. Soon would come in District 12. Once again, nothing really noteworthy about their tributes. The television soon shut off and the District 10 tributes were both met with mixed thoughts.

* * *

 **District 11**

After watching the reapings, the two District 11 tributes really didn't know what to say. Willow, their mentor, sat by the window not saying a word to either of them. Eventually she looked over at both of the tributes who were now as still as stone.

"Cat got your tongue? Both of you seem like you've just seen a ghost." She says to them. "Anything bothering you 2?" She asked.

Cane opened his mouth to say something but he honestly didn't know where to start with the games. "Well... Well I can point out

"I can point out how there were a lot of volunteers this year. Some careers and others at least seemed strong. Except for the 8 girl and..." Cane looked over at his District partner. She was facing him, looking quite annoyed.

"Yeah? And me too?" She said.

Cane looked down at Iris. "I forgot to ask earlier. I'm curious. Why did you volunteer when you did?" He asked the girl. Her eyes widen for a moment before they shrank back down as she looked down at the floor.

"I... I..." Iris stutters as she stares at the floor. She did have a reason, a pretty good one she believed. But something was stopping her from talking about it. Another thought had grabbed her tongue and was making it to where she couldn't speak a word. Cane didn't know how to react. She was reacting as if she really didn't have a reason to have volunteered. Maybe she was trying to escape? Maybe she was afraid? Maybe... Maybe she really didn't have a reason. Cane wondered if this really was the case. She wasn't exactly going to tell him at the moment now.

Cane looked out the window. The sky had darkened as the train continued it's dash towards the Capitol. By morning, he'd be in the capitol facing 22 other children. Less than a week later, he'd be in an arena preparing to fight to the death against those children. He looked back down at his district partner who was still staring at the colorful carpet. He'd be facing her too... He groaned. He wasn't exactly against killing anybody in the games. Just he'd rather not kill his 14 year old District partner. He wondered if he could ask her about an alliance in fact. He was going to need allies and anybody would be good. He faced her. However she walked out of the dinning area and back into the room across. Cane got up to follow her, however Willow grabbed him on the shoulder.

"What do you want?" He asked, turning around with a very annoyed look.

Willow gave a thoughtful look. "What're you lookin for from that girl? You stare at her with a sort of... Well I don't know how to explain it but it's like you want somethin from her." She questioned Cane.

Canes eye'd her. "An alliance. She's 14 and is probably realizing volunteering was a mistake or something like that." He told as he swept her hand off him.

Willow chuckled. "An alliance?" She chuckled a little harder. Cane turned around now almost glaring.

"What?" He asked her.

Willow scratched her long, curly hair. "Oh nothing. Alliances." She looked away.

Cane just rolled his eyes as he opened the door towards the next room. However as he entered, he noticed that nobody was in the room. His District partner wasn't in the room. The door behind him opened though.

"She's probably gone to her room to think. I don't think you should interfere." Willow suggested. Cane sighed. He figured asking for an alliance was going to have to wait until the next day when she would probably be up for it.

He turned around to Willow to say something but she quickly began to speak. "You should head to bed too. You need to be fully awake for tomorrow." She reminded him, walking out and closing the door on him.

Tomorrow would be the day of the chariot rides where they'd be shown off to a crowd in Capitol. It was probably going to be a very stressful day. He sighed. He decided he was probably going to take that order and just hop in bed...

* * *

 **District 12**

Marja was leaning backwards off the couch, feeling quite exhausted from everything that had happened all day. Everything had happened so fast that it was almost impossible to keep up past that. First being torn away from friends and family in 12 due to the reaping. Then lunch. Interacting with her District partner as well as meeting their mentor, Katniss. The replays. Everything was going too quickly for her.

Marja was feeling so many emotions at once and didn't even know where to start with them.

On the other side, there was Kolton. He was already thinking up a strategy for the upcoming games. He _needed_ to get home. Home to his brother. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving his brother all alone like this and he knew losing the games meant his brother would be all alone with their father forever. Because of this Kolton was already thinking up a strategy.

Kolton was good at a lot of things. Of the list of skills he could name, lying and manipulating was another part of it. The Hunger Games may be a battle to the death and would require a lot of physical skill, mental abilities and skill would also come in handy. After all, getting sponsors was one of the most important aspects of the games. If not, there was a large chance that he was going down. He looked across the room and watched as his District partner laid across the couch.

They had their own rooms but for some reason neither of them were budging.

In an instant, Marja looked over at her District partner who she noticed was staring in her direction.

"You need anything from me?" She asked him.

Kolton looked away. "No." He responded coldly.

He laid back, looking straight up at the ceiling. Kolton sighed. He had already turned against the idea of getting allies. Allies could be good for the first few days but once the numbers decrease dramatically, god knows what could happen afterwards.

He wanted to go ahead and do everything independently. In all honesty, he was sure he'd be pretty good by himself compared to many other District 12 tributes of the past. He was already one of the toughest kids at the school. Not to mention his tolerance to pain was pretty good.

He was probably going to be a few steps ahead of the other tribute...

Suddenly the door swung open. Standing at the door alone was the previous District 12 victor. Katniss Everdeen of the 74th Hunger Games.

"Are you two just not going to go to bed?" She said, giving an exasperated sigh.

"Yeah. Just not yet." Kolton turned around and told her.

"Fine. Fine. But look. Tomorrows an important day. You need to be impressive for the sponsors." She said.

Kolton stood up. "Really? I doubt after 26 years of being lit on fire District 12 is going to raise any heads." Colton argued.

The victors eyes arched. "23." She corrected Kolton, angrily.

"Sorry. Look. I get it. Tomorrow may sound like a pretty big deal but I think I should focus on the skills I need to hone in training and my eventual strategy for the games. After all, once the games begin and I last longer than most of the other tributes those fools in the Capitol will have no choice but to sponsor me. After all, I'll have proven myself once I get there and show off my skill myself." Kolton claimed.

"Tch. Whatever you say then." Katniss rolled her eyes. She looked over at Marja who wasn't even paying attention to the argument. She half smiled at the girl before exiting the room.

 _Hm... Just the type Cellia was looking for..._

* * *

 **Phew. Finally got this chapter out. ACT tests got in the way for a while so I apologize. I was almost done with the chapter before in fact. Sorry, again.**


	13. The Parade

By the time Deacon was able to catch his breath, he was already mostly dead at that point. The whole day was such a chore. So tiresome and so annoying. The Capitol was definitely something else. He had woken up to the news that the train was nearing the Capitol and they needed to be prepared for the cameras. He and his District partner had gotten a good look at the Capitol and the skyline that seemed to dwarf even District 3. Before they knew it, they were at the train station where they were swarmed with cameras.

Soon afterwards, he had been snatched up and put in a room where he had to strip so a few people could clean up his body all while questioning how any boy could be this dirty. After what had likely been 4 hours just being scrubbed up over and over and over again (not to mention being waxed of all of his body hair) they were finally done and the Capitolites left the room.

Deacon thought he could finally catch a break after this, but a few moments later a woman walked in the room from the only entrance. It was at this moment that Deacon remembered he was lacking any clothes at the moment and covered himself accordingly.

Her hair was quite short and was colored irregularly. Grey and purple. Her eyes were pale. Cold. Something about this woman bothered Deacon. She entered the room.

"Alright, let's get to business." She said immediately.

Deacon sighed at this remark. Those capitolites had already tested his attitude and he was not looking forward to having to deal with any more of it.

"Viva is the name. If you curious that is." She said, handing the boy a robe.

Deacon stood up, putting it on. It was at the moment that he realized how small this woman was. Deacon was a pretty tall kid, he wasn't going to lie. However she was actually _really_ small. At least the height of a 13 year old, but she seemed to be at least over 25.

"Come with me." She said, walking back through the door with Deacon following behind.

* * *

Soon enough, the time had come. Deacon _really_ disliked their outfit. What tribute wouldn't? It was just a black suit the was heavy as all hell. Deacon was now pissed that he had spent all that time getting cleaned and prepared for just a suit. He gave a glare to Viva.

She responded by smiling back at him. That made Deacon even more aggravated.

"This is ridiculous. Are you telling me this is the best District 3 gets. A suit." Deacon was reaching his tipping point. This was getting _really_ irritating. However, he noticed the reaction Viva had. She closed her eyes and chuckled. However, this chuckle turned into laughter. _Uncontrollable laughter in fact_. However, she stopped to breath.

Deacons eyes arched hard this time. She was really starting to piss him off.

"What's so funny!" He said, a lot louder than he meant. She looked back up at the boy and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Look, you'll seen when we get to the parade." She turned around and put her hands out in front of her, making a window with them.

"Lookin good so far. We'll just have to see what Tersus has to say" She stretched her arms and yawned.

Now he was confused. Wondering what this was about. Maybe there was something more to this suit than he thought. It would probably be something lame. Like lights. What else would represent District 3 better than lights. He sighed.

 _Looking into the head of a capitolite is just weird..._

* * *

Vivian flickerman and Snouch Cirivin both looked downwards at the tributes from their post where they were to do commentary. They had gathered in the room nearly an hour before and for the longest time, there was a large silence that had befallen over the room. Tension. There had been tension between the two for what was about to be nearly a year. Conversation between the two had been limited to nearly small chats about the upcoming game and their plans for their duties. In fact, they both failed to do their annual commentary over the reaping replays because this tension prevented both of them from wanting to do their duties, or at least do them together.

Why this tension? Why all of this? Well, this feeling would've maybe lasted two... three months? Well, something like that if it wasn't for the fact that the ending of the 96th Hunger Games carved their relationship in two. A few days later, the two met in a restaurant at the outskirts of the Capitol, maybe hoping that less people would overhear and maybe their was a limited chance any Capitol officials would catch them.

"Look... it's something I've been thinking about since I was a little boy, watching my dad on those screens all the way back then. My life... It's... It's been built for the games and..." He began.

Snouch only listened. He had this look. As in a almost annoyed type look. As if he understood exactly where his best friend was going and what he's about to say. He was right though. Vivian argued about the necessity of the Hunger Games. He talked about how watching children and teens come in every year only to kill each other had affected his life. He always wished he could have more than a few minutes to talk with them. Wished they didn't have to go and die. The past few years, he went out drinking alone after the interviews because he wanted to remove them from his thoughts. Every year got worse for him. Seeing those kids attempt that double suicide meant something to him. The tributes had always been self aware. But now things were about to turn for the worst. Panem was about to collapse in on itself. Completely. This would only be the beginning. What would happen next? Vivian didn't know how people in the district thought, but he knew it would get far worse. Eventually, this whole thing could lead to rebellion and well... Another dark age. Possibly the end of Panem.

However, Snouch only continued to stare at Vivian with that annoyed look in his eyes. Snouch reminded him why the Hunger Games were necessary. A yearly reminder that the Capitol had its grip over the Districts who rebelled and killed many Capitolites during the Dark Days. He argued that without it, The Districts would have that motivation, that train of thought to be able to pull off something like those days once again and kill many. These kids could do these public displays over and over and over again for all he cared, it just wouldn't matter in the long run.

Vivian hated the sound of that, however he didn't really know how to respond. After a few minutes of just staring each other down, Vivian got up and left, telling his friend he'd see him another day. They didn't. Well, at least much for the most part. Today was the first day that they were going to be with each other for more than 5 minutes.

Of course, the best thing to do was to not bother pointing out their obvious different stances on the Hunger Games, and the two were prepared to do their commentary like they usually did.

"So. Hows the kids." Vivian asked. He wanted to start their day off with them talking. When they used to do commentary or interviews together, there was this air that you could tell that they were friends. That they were serious about their job and that they weren't some two guys put in a room. Vivian wanted to make sure that they were like that for today.

"Oh uh. We had a new one come last month. Yeah, Sirus. She's healthy as of now." Cirivin responded.

Vivian smiled. "Congratulations." He said, patting his "friend" on the back.

 _But hopefully they could reconcile sometime soon. Even with these games in the way..._

* * *

 **The Tribute Hall**

Bailey and her district partner where the second group of tributes to make it into the hall first. The others being the District 12 pair. Of course she wasn't interested in talking to them. She was going to do her own thing until it was time to start the tribute parades. What "doing her own thing" meant? She honestly had no clue. It would be at least 45 minutes before the rest of the tributes dropped down and maybe another 20 minutes before they'd officially get started.

She sighed. She hated the idea of sitting in such an outfit for more than 10 minutes. Well, sure it wasn't the worst thing in the world. Cowboy hat. Leather skirt and a white shirt. Nothing too big but she hated the skirt. It was annoying to walk around in. It was better than District 12 to say the least. Of course, a darkly colored outfit that was supposed to represent coal and during the parade it would catch on fire. Believe it or not, this was a big deal years ago when first introduced. However at this point it was old news. Well, except that one time it actually burned the male 12 tribute a few years back but that was the last time anyone could say anything notable about the outfit.

Bailey closed her eyes for a few moments, but when they were opened up she realized Victor had wandered over to the District 12 area. She sighed. That boy bothered her. He was probably gonna be one of those kids that would end up getting mowed over by the careers in the bloodbath.

She looked around again. Still, no new tributes. It seemed a few of them were going to take far longer than they should. But then her eyes opened up a little wider. She could've sworn it was only her, Victor and the 12 tributes. However she counted heads. There were 5 of them. He was dressed as casual as you could get in the Capital. A simple windbreaker with sunglasses also on his head.

Victor was talking to this kid, not the 12 tributes. Well, kid wasn't really the way to put it considering the boy was actually pretty tall. The tall boy was whispering into the ear of her district partner and his eyes widened too. Victor then looked over at her before turning back to the boy and continuing to converse with him.

Bailey's eyes arched in annoyance. Were they talking about her? Really? She approached the two who seemed to pay her no mind. As she stood next to them, the tall boy took notice however Victor did not and just continued talking. Seeing the tall boy stop and look away though caused him to turn around and quickly realize Bailey was behind him which made him jump back a bit.

Bailey made a coughing motion with her hand, questioning why these two were talking about her. Victor cleared his throat and pointed to the tall boy.

"This kids the son of the President." He whispered to Bailey. Her eyes widened. She was actually caught off guard by this revelation but the shady getup kinda helping this make sense.

"A-Are you really?" Bailey asked, making sure.

The boy nodded. "Yeah. I'm just wanted to see the tributes up close but it looks like I was pretty a drag." He sighed, crossing his arms.

Bailey was just baffled. Baffled for various reasons. Reason 1 was pretty obvious. The child of probably the most hated man in Panem has just walked into hall of probably the one place that represents the Capitol too well. The place where aside from the tears spilt from crying for home and for family is the anger that this even has to happen to them at all. All that anger directed towards the Capitolites and all involved with the Hunger Games and especially the head family. If anyone else was down here he'd probably get lynched. Forget the fact that there are no ropes down here. These tributes would probably do so with anything they could get their hands on.

"You realize how unsafe this place is. We're tributes in the Hunger Games. Something your father is responsible for continuing you know." She poked him in the chest. A sign to get moving.

He shook his head. "Yeah. Obviously. I understand. If the games could be stopped, I'd stop them. But no, too young." He says, looking away for a moment.

Not too far away was Kolton who just happened to be listening in. He slumped. This kid was really the Presidents son? And he actually wanted to do something about the games? He honestly couldn't believe it.

He made his way over towards him and the tributes from 10.

"What are you talking about? You can't be serious can you." Kolton questioned the tall boy.

"Kid I ran 4 miles through the city in an outfit that makes me look stupid and through 14 gaurds (And actually knocked out the 15th) and you run up to say I can't be serious. Does this face scream not serious to you." The tall boy said as he ran out of patience and turned to the tribute behind him.

Kolton eyed him. Of course the Presidents son would be this smart mouth brat. He seemed to be hitting all of his buttons.

"Look. I just came here to get a close look at all of the tributes here and maybe say high but I'm not here to get my dad to change his mind. If I could do that these games would've been over decades ago." He said, walking off.

Bailey huffed. The boy seemed quite annoying. Though he could see him looking at her. Maybe this stupid plan of her fathers was actually going to go somewhere. She turned around and headed back against the wall.

The tall boy pressed the door to the elevator. However when the doors opened three people were already inside. The District 8 tributes and the person who designed their outfits.

"Oh excuse u-, Wait. Aren't you... uh..." The woman began. However the boy quickly rushes into the elevator without interacting with them. With the press of a button, the elevator went up and away.

"Somebody you know?" Sunny asked Willis. Willis shook her head.

"Probably wasn't who I was thinking. The hair seemed pretty similar though. Just can't replicate that hair honey." She chuckled a bit, patting Sunny and Lukas on the back. Lukas rolled his eyes. Even with all that time spent on putting on the outfit AND all this heavy makeup they were still some of the earliest in the room. The elevator next to them also opened, revealing the District 1 tributes. Both of them with more or less serious looks on their faces.

"Hm." Terry said, looking around with boredom. He gazed over at the pair next to them. District 8. Nothing special at the moment. Just staring back at him like he's some sort of crazy bastard.

He then moved that gaze towards 12 and 10. The tributes from 12 weren't doing anything and the girl from 10 was laying against the wall with clear annoyance in her eyes. She seemed to be muttering something. He was curious, but he didn't think getting too close was a good idea.

He then noticed something out of the corner of his eyes. The girl from 8 gave a wave towards him and his District partner. He just ignored this. _Pitiful._

* * *

The President sat in a podium far above the rest of the crowd. It looked towards the tribute hall which would station the 24 tributes for the Hunger Games. This would be one of the few times in nearly a year he had spent with his family. They were all sitting around and serving themselves some food before the parade was to begin. However, it didn't take long for anyone to realize Frigus has suddenly gone missing.

Amelia was on talking (or, well screaming) into the phone to make sure someone out there had seen her son. The President had a more laid back approach to this. And by approach, it was really not doing anything about it. He doubted his son could be doing anything too rash. After all, he was apart of the "hate The President" club and was probably going to spend his time elsewhere. Not to mention he had a special distaste for the games. That was obvious. However his wife didn't really listen to him and was still on the phone.

However suddenly the elevator doors opened right up, revealing their 18 year old son standing alone with a blank face.

Amelia angrily stomped over to her son, red with anger.

"Where have you been?! I was worried sick about you!" She yelled.

Frigus shrugged. "I got caught up doing something. I'm just a little late." He said entering the room before promptly apologizing for not being present immediately. Amelia calmed down. She could understand. After all his son was an adult now and was starting to do his own things. Moving out of his fathers shadow and things like that.

"The tribute hall is a strange place to get caught up doing... Whatever." His dad said suddenly, looking over at him.

Amelia looked over at her son, confused.

"So. You knew?" Frigus asked his dad, not even surprised.

"You know, the only reason you really got past half of those peacekeepers are because you're my son. Anyone else would've been shot on the spot." Ramia said to his son, standing up.

Amelia looked back and forth between the two, unsure what to think.

"U-Uh... W-What?" She said, backing up.

"Look dad. I wasn't doing anything stupid in there. I wanted to scope out the tributes in their. Mostly because I wanted to see if there were any tributes that possibly could start a rebellion. After all, that's something you seem to be unable to do." He explained.

Honestly, Ramia didn't know what to say to that. He didn't particularly like his sons plan but... what else could they do?

"Huh... I see..." The President sighed as he sat back down. However, his wife did not like this.

"Are you crazy Frigus. Those kids hate us. They hate YOU. Half of them are trained killers and the others don't wanna be here. If they want, they could pick you up and just kill you on the spot for being the Presidents son. What happens if you die? Huh? What happens?" She yelled at her son. Frigus turned around.

"I don't know. I guess you figure out who the troublemakers are and torture them for a while. Maybe if we're lucky they'll be apart of some rebellion and they can spill some stuff for us." He said. Amelia shook her head and grabbed her son by the shirt.

"That's ridiculous. Just don't go back there again. Or else." She yelled again, pushing her son back and storming off in the other direction.

Frigus sighed. He understood the concern... But it was the best plan. Of course, he'd be going back for the training days. He knew this was even dumber than going on the chariot parade because in this case most of them had actual weapons. However he knew if he played it safer he could actually approach some of the tributes and possibly gain their trust. He knew his chances of ridding this game of any sabotage were high if he just played his cards correctly...

Soon, Vivian would announce that the parade would begin soon and as such he went over to the window. His sister was already there waiting for him.

"You're plan is actually not half bad." She said.

Frigus shook his head. "Not really when you take into account I'll be going back when the tributes are all armed." He said to her quietly. He chuckled at what he'd just said but his sister looked at him as if he were stupid. However she said nothing as the anthem suddenly began down below...

* * *

 **District 1**

District 1 was the first one out and the roaring sounds of the crowd was amplified by tenfold once they got outside. Diamonds look of distaste turned to a smile of goodwill. Of course, she was only putting it on for the crowd but something in her felt like a candle that had just bin lit. She was almost excited. Intrigued. She was here. In the Capitol. Though her thoughts went back to seriousness. She couldn't let herself become enveloped by this feeling. She continued to wave with a fake but convincing smile. The crowd was eating her up. _Too easy_ , she said to herself.

Terry was more or less doing the same. He wasn't really focusing on being a very happy looking tribute, he would but his thoughts were elsewhere. He hadn't really gotten the best look at some of the other tributes. Sure, he'd have enough time once training began since joining the careers was already in his plans. However he wanted to make sure he got an extra look. Thankfully the chariot outfits were actually quite simple this year. Considering it only took him maybe a few hours to get into the outfit, he had enough time to screw around and was the in the hall pretty early. He attempted to scope out the other careers and their personalities, though whether he succeeded or not was up for debate. He decided against interacting directly from the start. He'd be clear by the time training came to start, but at the moment he was going off of the small interactions he caught. Personally the careers this year were what he considers the standard group. Out for fame. Maybe in from pressure from family. Really he didn't know nor he cared. Eventually, he decided to go back to the fake smile and waving. Blowing a kiss to some of the female crowd members who even fainted at this motion. Terry slightly chuckled at this. The crowd was already eating him up.

 _He knew he couldn't let himself get consumed by this idea so soon though..._

 **District 2**

Cypress was pretty pleased with the chariot design he had been given. Yeah, sure. Gladiator war Armour was a common design used for District 2 tributes but Cypress personally felt like it fit him greater than it could fit anyone else. The Armour showed off his build. Revealing quite a bit more in fact. The moment he saw the crowd, he gave a fierce grin. One that showed his eagerness to fight alongside his confidence in his abilities.

The camera's were mostly fixated on Magma though. She had a fixated pissed off look that would probably send even grown men back a little. Kiya told her to lighten up a little when they got out into the open. Maybe even _try_ a smile. Well obviously she didn't bother. She _did_ at least go from looking very angry to a more aggravated-neutral look.

To most mentors or others working for the capitol before the games, not smiling or being hostile towards the crowd during the games usually did the tributes no good. Of course, Magma could care less what these people thought of her. They'd see her fire when the games would actually began. The crowd was cheering wildly at her though. At first sight, it seemed to be her outfit. After all, it was quite revealing. An obsidian bra with obsidian colored strips along with some regular shorts that were colored accordingly. Of course, this left her midriff a little bare which gave her a sexy looking look.

However it was likely a case that the whole aggressive look made her come off as an aggressive and blood thirsty tribute. Of course, the Capitol was 100% into this idea. Magma was already set up for victory in the Pre-games.

 _Quite ironic how obsidian is a cooled off magma..._

 **District 5**

Seeing the large crowd emerge in front of her was one of the blurriest moments in Atoms life. By blurry, it really meant she didn't know what to think of it. Half of her was uncomfortable and worried but the other was alright and willing to make sure the crowd enjoyed her presence. The day before burned in her memory though. Life as she knew it was ripped apart which of course ripped a hole in her heart. The whole thought came back to her when she didn't want it there at present. She needed to stand up and do her best but...

"Pst. Smile a little." Someone whispered to her. Of course, this could only be her district partner. The one who oh so desperately wanted to interact with her the day before. She... Honestly had no idea what he wanted nor was she interested in interacting with him but she tried her hardest to take this advice. Apparently despite her attempt to smile it'd always drop off once she thought of home back in 5. It was hard to not think of it. Especially considering their outfits were made to represent home.

Zircon had already taken some time to appreciate their chariot designs. His was a dark red suit that creates the illusion that electrons are swirling around him. To the people that don't know better, it would look like he was clothed in small, bright, burning stars, real ones, that are orbiting around him.

It was unique to say the least. Sure it wasn't very subtle but it said what it needed to. District 5 was around to be the best they could. That reminded him though. Considering their little performance the previous year he needed to be seriously careful about how he went about the games. He looked over at his partner before going back to the crowd and waving.

 _This'll be tough..._

* * *

If you couldn't tell by the time it took. This one was a pain. Quarter because of schools ending, quarter because of a Florida vacation (I grabbed the bag without my computer when we went to the airport by mistake.), quarter (once again) personal problems and quarter lack of direction for the tribute parade. I eventually decided with exploring a few of the characters before the parade and a few during.

Jeez, I'm slow.


	14. Flaws (Training Day 1)

The morning sun rose over the mountains of the Capitol and into the blinds of Ava's bedroom. Ava's eyes were starting to open and immediately she was aggravated. First of all, she didn't feel like waking up. It was strange. After all she always woke up early to head off to work. She wasn't a fan of it per say but it was what she did to keep money in the house. Especially with their mother off doing... Well, whatever. She sighed though. The thought of her family and her life back in 7 was enough to give her the energy to hop out of bed.

She was aggravated for another reason. This was because today was the training day. The day all the tributes would come together and learn some tips before the games. This is usually the day alliances form. Of course, one of these groups would be the careers. However a few others from other districts would probably form a counter alliance. Ava even wondered if 5 was coming up with something. The previous year they attempted a very... strange stunt which ended in complete failure for some unexplained reason. Well, it was pretty clear that the 5 boy died but otherwise it was hard to really understand the full story. Ava yawned before looking around her room. She hadn't really gotten the chance to get a good look at her room since after the chariot parade she just hopped straight into bed with no care. It's just what happens when again District 7's tributes are just trees. Really the whole thing was such a snore. Nothing of note except maybe 3.

Ava looked up. On the door was something she hadn't even noticed. A pair of sweatpants alongside a shirt were hanging on the door, seemingly freshly cleaned. She blinked. Again, she was reminded of what was to come today and she was honestly not looking forward to it. Today would be exhausting.

Cactus, the District 7 mentor and winner of the 89th Hunger Games, was already in the diner eating breakfast alongside Ollie who was also eating too. Though, ollie was still half sleep as he ate the food he was given by the Avox's. He was eating slowly. Probably because he was thinking about his move. It was something he came up with while in the waiting room after the reapings. It was a very risky plan but he was willing to go ahead and try and join the careers. Of course Ollie had a really good chance of getting in. That's why he wasn't going to bother telling anyone, at least today that was. Everyone would just nag him about how dumb of an idea it is or how he'll just be walking into a death trap or some stupid trash like that. Really the best thing he could do was just not tell anyone of his plan since everyone else would just get in his way. Even if it wasn't the case, he assumed it was best to make sure. Ollie figured he could pull it off. Of course, he hadn't been told he was a charming boy for nothing. Everybody around him knew who he was and respected him. He could probably impress the careers with his skills and maybe grab their interest. Hell, Ollie didn't even need to ask them. He just needed to look good and the careers will definitely notice him. Afterwards they'll seek the opportunity to add them to the groups so they'll have less competition to worry about.

Around the time he finished finalizing his thoughts Ava had already taken a seat with them and was putting food on her plate. Catacus figured this would be the best time to give advice.

"So. I assume you two both have some plans for today." He coughed up. To be clear, he doubted either of them were thinking anything. He just wanted to get a conversation about a good strategy onward. As expected, both of them shook their heads. He smirked.

"Well. I have a lot to tell you." He began, clearing his throat.

* * *

Cypress and Magma were already in the training area. They weren't the only ones. District 6 was here as well.

Cypress was already training. Practicing with a trainer who could barely put up a good fight with the boy. Magma was sitting down. She was going to wait for a few moments before she did something. Not for any reason in particular she just was going to wait. At the moment though, she looked over at the 6 pair who were both off doing their own things. The 6 boy looked weak. Nothing noteworthy. Same with the girl. She moved her hair out of the way and sat back.

Eventually another pair came down the elevator. This being District 1. Stepping out of the elevator first, Terry looked around the room a little. There really didn't seem to be much he was interested in. At least at the moment it seemed.

Daimon was also looking around. Seeing if there was anything that could be of any use at the moment despite the training she'd already gone through. She looked forward and noticed that the pair from 2 were already in her proximity. She turned back to her District partner, curious to see whether or not he'd be joining. Though the likelness was pretty small so she just went ahead over to the pair without him.

She stepped up to the girl who was just watching her District partner with very little care in her eyes. The girl looked up at Daimon.

"Are you lost?" She asked immediately. Daimon crossed her arms.

"No. District 1." She said to the dark haired girl, expecting her to figure out she was joining them. However, the girl from 2 just shrugged.

"Okay I guess." She said, giving a brief waving off motion. Daimons eyes arched in anger. Who the hell did this girl think she was. Clearing her throat, she squared up to the girl. The 2 girl looked up at Daimon, still barely giving any care.

"I'm here to join the careers." Daimon looked down on the girl who even then didn't seem to acknowledge the 1 girls existance.

"Okay. You've made it clear already. You're here to align with us but I don't care. Do whatever. Stop bothering me." The 2 girl got up, now looking a bit angry. Instinctly, Daimon stepped back. She realized she shouldn't have as it made her look a little scared but looking at the other girls face she understood why she did so. The girl from 2 gave off a very... Dangerous feeling. However, Daimon ignored it and told her her name.

"Daimon Fletcher." She said to the 2 girl. She just scoffed.

"Magma Stryker." Magma seemed to be squaring up too now, looking almost like she wanted a fight. However, before anything could be started another tribute seemed to walk between them.

"So. You fools are the careers this year?" A voice said, catching both of the girls attention. Now their anger seemed to both turn towards whoever had said this. It was a tall boy with a short, curly black hair. Harry didn't seem to be too bothered with the nasty looks he was getting. It got their attention.

"What do you want? Four?" Magma said, putting her elbow against the boy and pushing them both into a weapons display, now looking VERY aggravated. Harry could barely breath not to mention the fact that they were surrounded by weapons made him very uncomfortable.

"What the hell, can't you take a joke?" He coughed out, trying to convince the girl off of him. Considering she began elbowing him harder in the throat afterwards it likely seemed it didn't work. At this rate, she was actually about to kill him via suffocation so Harry quickly began pushing her off of him. However she was tough and he was _really_ having a tough time. As Harry struggled, the girl glared down at the boy making no sounds and seeming almost emotionless.

Eventually Harry pushed the girl from 2 off of him. The girl jumped back, still glaring. Harry quickly started catching his breath.

"The hell was that all about?!" He shouted at the 2 girl.

"Nothing." She said, walking off as if nothing had just happened, leaving both Daimon and Harry to question what the hell she had been trying to accomplish by nearly killing him.

Magma walked by the District 6 tributes who had just been watching. Ayana looked down at the ground. _So these were the careers this year? Jeez._

Tobias was shaking a little. That girl was dangerous. More so than the other careers he was looking at at the current moment. This worry spurred on an idea. Maybe asking for assistance from his District partner in the form of an alliance. However he looked down at her. He looked away. _He'd have to think on it..._

* * *

Riyal sat at the fire making section quietly. Her eyes were arched with anger though as she angrily beamed around the room. There was a few reasons she was sitting at the fire section. Nobody was at the station at the moment aside from her. Well there was no instructor at the fire making station and Riyal was purposely blocking the view to the reading instructions on the wall. Anytime somebody dropped by and asked for her to move, she'd simply ignore them until they left. On top of that most other people were elsewhere honing their skills on other stations so really there were only a few kids who dropped by, those being 3, 8 and 12. Otherwise both the big and small tributes were trying their hands at things like weapons or in the case of the 5 girl, doing the rope alone.

Riyal blinked. Then she blinked again. District 5, over at the ropes? Her face went from annoyed to pure anger at that moment. That's where she was huh? Don't the 5 tributes remember. They were supposed to meet up at the fire station spot, make sure nobody else came by and then they'd talk over their plans. She growled and got up, deciding to head over to the girl.

* * *

Atom was reading the instructions to the rope since there was no instructor at the station at the moment. She kind of wished there was though. It could take her mind off of reaping day and help her prepare for the upcoming games. However she was starting to feel restless again. So much she had to do before the games in less than a week. Plan out a strategy for the games. Come up with a plan for the upcoming interviews and possibly find something that could get her a decent score. Normally she'd tackle the hardest of all plans first. However with the Hunger Games in mind she just couldn't bear leaving the thought alone. However she didn't have a good idea in mind for the games. Go towards the cornucopia and hopefully grab something? Or... Maybe run away and have a larger chance of surviving. But that wouldn't work. She'd die sooner or later if she left without anything so what was her plan...

She thought about allies for a moment. It was tempting but she truly couldn't trust the people in the arena. 12 to 18. Well, possibly her District partner. The boy who's name she hadn't even thought of remembering despite sharing the floor. Her district partner had managed to get a stiff hello from her earlier that morning. She felt bad she couldn't bring herself to say anything to him on the train. She'd never been socially awkward or anything. She wasn't really into talking to people. Her small group of friends in 5 were all she needed. She wasn't sure if she could tr-,

She looked up once she noticed people moving towards her. After a moment, two girls were surrounding her. They didn't seem to have done this intentional because one of the girls glared down at Atom before turning away and moving. The other girl reached to stop her but stopped herself and shook her head. The girl stopped for a moment before sitting down next to her. Her large curly brown hair took up a little bit of the view as she read the instructions. She took a pair of purple glasses out of her pocket and began reading.

Henrietta wasn't really sure whether or not she wanted to converse with the girl next to her but she at this point she was bored and out of things to stare at. She had done pretty well with the traps in a short amount of time, the careers seem to be slowly getting together around a lot of the weapon stations and then on top of that the girl from 9 was sitting in front of the instruction monitor at the fire station and refused to even acknowledge her. Really she was bored enough to wanna interact with another tribute.

 _Here goes nothing..._

* * *

Kolton groaned as he watched the careers practice. Well, he knew it wasn't really practice. It was more like just showing off for the rest of the tributes. Of course the ones that didn't stand a chance against them. Watching them reminded him of the bleakness of his situation. Their was a large possibility that he wasn't coming home and this was starting to annoy him. He took his place at the fire station. No instructor was there at the moment and he wanted to hop down at this area just to clear his mind.

However he wasn't alone because immediately after he plopped down, the District 11 male joined him. He dropped down and looked over at the careers too, giving them the exact same look Kolton gave.

"So 12. What're you doing wasting your time over here." He said, shifting his attention over to Kolton. Kolton just gave an annoyed look. He had no idea what this kid was doing nor did he understand why he was desperately trying to get a conversation out of him.

Kolton planned on ignoring him but another tribute dropped down next to them as well. This was a girl. District 9 apparently. She looked over at the two with a look of disdain.

"And what do you two want? Does this involve... I don't know, rebellion." She asked, whispering on the last line. Koltons eyes went from annoyed to downright lost. Before Kolton could even start she coughed.

"Fire is a signal. If nobody is here but a tribute sitting in front of the instructions like a moron then it means you're here for allies. I was told the District 5 tributes did this last year." The girl said quietly.

The District 11 boy nodded without even looking at her. However he turned back after a moment, now looking both curious and annoyed.

"You mean the tributes who attempted double suicide? Ahh. I see. I see how this dumb idea was put into place after all." He said, joking. Of course, he was directing this potshot at the conclusion of the previous games. They couldn't have been _any_ less subtle with their plan.

"So... You with me?" She asked, trying to be subtle about her true motive. However he put her hand in front of him.

"No... Or maybe. I don't know. Depend." He shrugged.

Riyal groaned. Took her a while but it was starting to become obvious 11 and 12 weren't apart of the alliance despite some hinting from Oam. This was a problem. If they at all hinted that she'd possibly be at the helm of the new rebellion she was doomed. She got up to leave.

"Don't say anything about this. Not even in the games okay. If I catch a glimpse of it I'm killing you. Don't even try and cross me." She said, giving a awful glare at the two.

Kolton wasn't intimidated but he understood so he didn't say a word back. The 9 girl accidentally bumped into another girl on the way out though. She was shorter and on top of that looked better fed than some of the other tributes. Probably 3, or 5.

"Huh. Nobody here either?" She looked around.

The 11 boy cleared his throat which got the girls attention. However she looked back up for somewhere else to look.

"We're here too ya know." He said.

"Oh. Sorry I meant somebody to teach me the basics." She apologized before walking off. Kolton looked back at the 11 boy, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something about his attitude. However he just shook his head and got up to leave as well.

 _Ugh..._

* * *

Zircon was pretty tired after all the training and interaction done that day so dinner was a welcome after all of that. He was sitting next to Atom, his district partner who seemed to be talking a little more every now and then. Maybe she was starting to see something in the people around her finally. The others eating with them were the two of the five living District 5 tributes. Cellia Winroe, victor of the 75th Hunger Games. And Nina, victor of the previous Hunger Games. Cellia was pretty talkative and nice. She seemed to be getting close to them in an almost comforting manner. Nina was a lot quieter and shy-like but she was warming up in a manner similar to that of Atom.

"So. You make any allies or anything?" Cellia asked the two tributes while they ate their brunch. They weren't really paying much mind for the moment but Zircon was the first to speak.

"No. I don't think I really need any allies." He said. He figured that wouldn't bold well with his mentor. Allies were a double edged sword in the Hunger Games but honestly it was one of the best options in the games. He'd never seen his mentors game in full but he recalls that Cellia chose not to rush to the cornucopia at the start of her games. Of course, that was probably because she had her sister there with her who ended up running straight into the cornucopia and grabbed a bunch of supplies herself. She even grabbed two bags. Of course being the oldest in the games with some real handy fighting experience did that for Sky Winroe. She lasted until the very end, making sure to die before he sister could and to secure Cellia's victory. At least in the case of her alliance, she figured it would never break. They were sisters but despite that they loved each other the best any sisters could and lasted until they couldn't last any more. When it comes to alliances otherwise, you're always teaming with kids you don't even know so half the time they could be out to get you first chance it seems you'll get in the way. Because of this, Zircon didn't understand why Cellia was giving an annoyed look.

Nina seemed a lot more quiet on the idea of allies. After all, earlier in the day she had encouraged him to do without allies. However he was still up for it. Maybe he could trust his district partner. However he wasn't sure if she'd be up for it.

He looked over at Nina. Looking at her face, the half there half gone look in her eyes, it caused him to reminisce about the previous year and the games.

How she and her District partner lasted to the end and attempted a clever double suicide. It actually could've worked. Wyatt died out of nowhere though. Like, he grasped his heart in pain and collapsed. It didn't seem to be the tracker or anything? It was...

Zircon had come up with a pretty good theory. Since the food that grew off trees and things like that are artificial maybe they could've done something to the food that he ate and killed him with it? Haphazard at best but personally Zircon thought it made sense. However there was one other thing that bothered him about the ending... And considering he was sitting next to the flaw itself-,

"I have a question... Nina. It... It's about the Hunger Games last year." He asked his mentor who now looked pale. She gave a quiet "go ahead and ask."

"Why didn't you... Eat the berry too?" He asked. Zircon looked back up towards Nina. Her hair covered her face now and he could not see her reaction. She dropped her fork down and stood up. For a while she just stood there looking emotionless and almost out of it. Eventually though, she just walked away, making a sound of disgust while she was at it.

"You shouldn't have bothered..." Atom said looking away from Zircon. Zircon was quiet before he stood up and pushed in his chair.

"Yeah. I think I'm full too. I'll see you tomorrow. Cellia, A-Atom." He waved off and left.

This just left Cellia and Atom. Cellia sighed.

"Things just keep getting better and better." She said to herself.

Atom looked out the window. She wondered what would've happened if there were actual plans for a rebellion this year. If somebody had taken her place in hopes of jumping into the games. Jumping into the games to die... Likely for nothing. She wanted to imagine that she'd remain at home. Remaining with her old friends and in her old house and in her old bed... But she couldn't bear it.

 _Hm..._

* * *

 **Didn't expect my lazy behind to get to work so fast huh? Well yeah, felt bad about wasting half of my summer doing nothing so another chapter. At this rate, the games will probably be ready by October at the latest. Thanks for reading, I'll see you all again soon enough.**

 **\- AlphaZero21**


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